Remarkable motion picture; one of the year's best!

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2002)

It had been one hell of a week to go to the movies. First, came the release of The Two Towers, the much-anticipated Lord Of The Rings sequel. Now we have Martin Scorsese's new film, Gangs Of New York. It stars Leonardo Dicaprio (Titanic), Cameron Diaz (Charlie's Angels), and Daniel Day-Lewis (The Last Of The Mohicans). This film has had a lot of buzz generated about it lately. Some from the fact that is being released against another Dicaprio film in another week, Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. But also due to the fact that Gangs looks to be one of the year's finest motion pictures. And currently, probably the best film playing next to The Two Towers. Unfortunately, none of our local cinemas have received a print of it. In fact, I saw in Burlington yesterday. However, we may be lucky enough within the upcoming weeks to see it one of our local marquees. Until then, I guess you'll just have to wait unless you are willing to see it Montreal, or Burlington.	Taking place in New York City during the mid-1800s amidst the upcoming Civil War, it tells the story of a young Irish-man named Amsterdam Vallon who witnessed his father's death as a boy in a rough area of New York called The Five Points. His father, played by Liam Neeson, is an Irish Priest and leads the other Irish against the a rival gang in the New York at the time headed by Daniel Day-Lewis's character, Bill the Butcher. After witnessing his father's demise at the hand of Bill the Butcher, Amsterdam is sent to an orphanage, and when he gets old enough he sets out on his own with the intention of getting revenge for his father's death. Amsterdam allies himself with Bill the Butcher, and learns how to handle the tough streets of the Five Points. Along the way, he meets a beautiful woman played by Cameron Diaz, called Jenny Everdeane. Jenny is a pickpocket and is Amsterdam's love interest in the film. However, as time goes on and Amsterdam and Jenny become closer, a friend of Amsterdam's named Johnny Sirocco, played by Henry Thomas (E.T., All The Pretty Horses) and also in love with Jenny, finds out about the affair between Amsterdam and Jenny. Johnny, filled with jealousy sells Amsterdam out to Bull the Butcher, who did not realize that Amsterdam was the son of the Irish priest he killed so many years before. Now the battle lines are being drawn between the natives of New York and Irish, blacks, and other immigrants who make up the rival faction of Amsterdam, called the Dead Rabbits.	The film is truly stunning. As stated before, it takes place against the Civil War and declaration of the draft by Lincoln. New York City was in chaos at the time with rioters and looters protesting the war. It actually led to Marshall Law being declared in the city. The film portrays these scenes with great precision and accuracy. Another great quality of the film is it's set design, which is immense and there is no digital affect here that isn't real. What you see, is what you get in this film, and we see quite a bit. The performances are superb from every member of the cast. I can't think of a single one to complain about. Also, the music used in the film is very good, as well. It contains some score composed by Academy Award winning composer, Howard Shore (Lord Of The Rings). U2 does a song, which doesn't appear in the film, but probably during the end credits and on the soundtrack called, `The Hands That Built America.' Not to mention the countless other pieces music that are used in the film; traditional folk songs from all walks of life  most notably Celtic music. Scorsese did a wonderful job directing this film, and is quite possibly one of the best, if not the best film of year. However, I'm cautious to say that Gangs Of New York is the best film of the year because there is still another film, at least on my list, that is note worthy to see: Catch Me If You Can, also starring Leonardo Dicaprio. ****