Some sentiments

Rating: 9/10 (24 April 2020)

From Henry said, "In my teens, I made more money than most adults in the whole street." Revealing the first level, the most direct thing that gang life brings is money. Overnight, a prosperous life is at your fingertips. and. Along with the "respect" of the outside world, the "extra care" on the street greatly satisfied the vanity. This point reached a peak when Henry brought his newly engaged girlfriend into the restaurant through the back door. This long lens uses the camera's movement to the extreme. The gorgeous and smooth visual effect makes the audience feel the Henry's smoothness at the moment.
Then the situation changed sharply, and all the characters seemed to be in a madness: Jimmy began to kill a 6 million robbery, Tommy shot the young man in the bar for no reason, and was finally executed by the Gambino family (the beginning of the film has been paved) ... the film enters the second layer, the gang 's hidden tendency to self-destruction, the ease of gang life comes from the material provided by the gang, and the basic way for the gang to obtain material is terror and violence, so the essence of the gang is unethical violence, bringing The chaos makes its structure extremely unstable. This instability makes gangs often lose control when they encounter major turning points such as the drug industry.
This tendency towards self-destruction gradually develops towards the destruction of others, and the interpersonal relationships maintained by material and violence are more fragile than imagined. On the third level of the film, it is also a must-see scene for gangster films: the old brothers sold each other. Eventually Henry also chose to compromise and joined the witness protection plan. Over time, a small society disappeared in self-destruction and mutual destruction.
At the end of the film, Henry said, "I feel like I can't leave that kind of life", and then brought the film back to the beginning, again asking questions: knowing that it is towards destruction, why is there always someone willing to try? Because of that kind of life, an ordinary person who is in a muddled state can "struggle" to achieve achievements far beyond his ability. Can this gang legend be understood as a twisted American dream?