Masterful Manipulation

Rating: 10/10 (5 January 2013)

It is a great Movie that can have you believing what you saw was not what you saw. It is the genius of Advertising and The Con. Contrary to popular belief this is not a glamorization of The Mob or their lifestyle, in fact, it is just the opposite. No matter how much the narrator/main Character tells us how attractive it is and how desirable it is to be a Wiseguy, the Film denies this in almost every scene.
It is the rhythm, the staccato of it all that hypnotizes us into believing what he is saying, but not what is actually occurring. The pulsating Music Soundtrack and the uncanny mesmerizing voice over lulls the Audience into a false sense of a wanting place. It is the work of the Devil. Or at least a devilishly good Film-Maker.
There is nothing attractive here. The People are ugly and unpleasant and constantly do ugly and unpleasant things. The Sets are mundane, gaudy and unattractive, as are the clothes. There is not one appealing aspect to any of this Photo-Play. Yet, Audiences are led by this pied piper Scorsese into the rat-a-tat-tat ruminations of a heel and a turncoat and they actually care about this crumb.
Such is the magical work of a Movie Maker obsessed with style that cannot be denied His Craft. This is a fugazi. A manipulative Movie. A sinful master work that is a temptation worthy of a great deceiver.