The Moose Hole - 'Gangs' Disappoints

Rating: 6/10 (12 January 2003)

After many delays, production budget problems, problems on the set and so much more, Gangs of New York finally makes it to theaters. The movie looked to never to make it to theaters after having it opening day moved from December 2001 to February 2002 to July 2002 to arrive a week before Christmas Day 2002. The $100 million budgeted film was directed by one of the most famous directors in Hollywood, Martin Scorsese. Scorsese had the idea for this film nearly 30 years ago and now his vision is brought to life even after much strife. But will this be another masterpiece for the great director or will all the problems overwhelm the Miramax film?
The story goes that Amsterdam Vallon arrives in the city of New York after spending 16 years in jail. He once lived in the mean streets of New York before his father was killed by a man named Bill the Butcher, who fought to protect the rights of the "natives" of this country. Amsterdam joins the Butcher's group of "natives" and becomes very close to him. Along the way, he meets up with old friends who have either gone into hiding or joined the side of the "natives". Amsterdam soon makes the decision that the Irish immigrants can't live in such horrible conditions any longer and so goes after his father's killer for the sack of the people of America. The story of Gangs of New York is a neat one at that but by the end, the audience is way too confused. The historical aspect of the film would have been fine by itself but by adding the Amsterdam subplot, the stories get so jumbled together that it is unclear what is exactly going on.
Gangs of New York is the second film for Leonardo DiCaprio to open around Christmas Day 2002 and he continues to show that he can't boast his acting ability outside of Titanic. The character of Amsterdam Vallon is way too complicated to fully understand but that is not the fault of DiCaprio. He does his best to make the audience accept as this Irish immigrant and he does a pretty good job at it. Daniel Day-Lewis was fabulous as Bill the Butcher. Lewis presents a great New York accent that makes him seem like a true American "native" in the 1860's. The only character that didn't seem in place was Cameron Diaz's Jenny. Once again, this is not the actor's fault but of the writer's. Diaz does a good job acting this character out but by the end of the film, her character seems very pointless to the story.
Overall, Gangs of New York was a big disappointment. Of the many problems, the thing that sticks out the most is the story. The era of the 1860's is a fascinating time to set a film against but the historical aspects are too jumbled together when that story is joined together with the Amsterdam Vallon story in Gangs. It was not much appreciated that the cause of the Union, which was to abolish slavery, was put in such a bad light. It is understood that many people didn't like the draft but some aspect to explain the draft should have been added. The government is looked on as a monster in this film which is not true at all. The film just seemed too dragged on. For three hours the movie looks to be going into one direction to just then turn around and go in another direction. Gangs' ending was too predictable. Scorsese could have saved at least a hour and a half of the audience's time by cutting out many unwanted scenes to direct straight to the bad ending. There are some things to like about Gangs of New York but they are so few that they not be mentioned here. See the film only if you really want to see it. If not, then wait for rental on DVD.
My Rating: *** out of 5 (Grade: C)