Disappointment

Rating: 6/10 (9 April 2003)

Many ideas and many ideals do not a good film make. And after seeing this movie I'm even more convinced of that. Here, a supposed labor of love and a project that has been dragging over more than 20 years presents itself like just one more movie and not the great Martin Scorsese return we all expected. I saw this after the oscar failure, and the question "why?" crossed my mind, when he had a great opportunity to receive that much wanted Best Director award. But when I saw this, I understood that the academy hasn't lost its marbles after all. In the middle of a great idea - the handling of a little known period of New York history - what comes out is not the awe of the gigantic production values, or the painful recognition that, indeed, the american society we know today WAS born in the streets. What comes out is the flaws that the movie makes so pivotal and doesn't suceed in hiding. Flaws like the much confusing structure of the story, that doesn't seem at all balanced, or that love story that turns out cold and uninspiring. Of course, the best thing about the movie is the addictive performance of Daniel Day Lewis, that steals all of the many scenes where he's in, and makes you want to see more of him by the end, and there are few moments where the power of the overall idea that New York has a dramatic background is well shown. But the sensation of ending up with nothing new is much more overwhelming than the cinematic experience, and the bad taste on your mouth becomes more and more intense, as the overlength starts picking on you. Anyway, few movies are made like this today, and Daniel Day Lewis is worth the admission alone.