Movie perfection

Rating: 10/10 (5 August 2007)

A gripping, shocking, at times shamefully hilarious, mob masterpiece, with a soundtrack so brilliantly chosen, you'd be forgiven for thinking all the songs were written just for this movie. The lightning pace never lets up as we follow the criminal career of the kid Henry Hill, as he blossoms from a scrawny mob-gopher into a streetwise foot soldier for the local Sicilian gangsters. It's a cautionary tale about the excesses of the American dream. All the major characters hold the world in their hands, but the inevitable backlash comes as the death toll rises and the money-making schemes become more grandiose...add some drugs, turf wars and extra-marital affairs into the mix..as well as the plain psychotic artistry of the more uncompromising villains (Pesci at his finest), and you've got a frenzied free-for-all on the streets of New York, as the gangster life tears up anyone and anything in its path. It's a wild ride, even if it's apparent where we're heading. Liotta adds a supremely good voice over which sets everything in context and slips you right into his edgy world, where every day is a constant hustle requiring wit, skill and courage. It's not a film for the faint hearted. While we are seduced by the wild world of organised crime, there are enough reality checks, in terms of the violence, to put us at an appropriate distance from the corrupt, morally redundant world that we are experiencing. Henry Hill is no Alex De Large, there's little ambiguity involved. He chooses the life and he pays for it in spades by the end. But the acting is so convincing, the story so well paced and delivered, that we have no time to reconsider our initial empathy for this bunch of villains. The cast is strong. Liotta performs an acting miracle as he holds onto the reins, occasionally being outshone by the electrifying Pesci, and the quietly malevolent De Niro...but never letting go of the story as his character ploughs on to the end. The supporting cast is brilliant So many memorable secondary characters, from Karen Hill, Mob boss Paulie, Morrie the wig-shop owner with grand ideas, henchman Carbone and many more. It's movie perfection..the blend of storytelling savvy, pitch=perfect performances, great music, elaborate camera-work and brilliant set design..It captures an era convicingly, and with an objectivity that really elevates it into a classic work of art.