Fascinating, beautifully shot and acted but slightly flawed

Rating: 7/10 (21 December 2004)

I wanted to see this for a long time, and finally bought the 2003 2-disc DVD director's cut recently. It's definitely one of De Niro's best, and I thought the cast generally were pretty good too. The locations are sumptuous and beautifully lit, and you are really drawn into the 1920's/30's. Less satisfying for me were the 60's segments, not because they were less visually convincing, but because I don't think they were completely coherent. The shot where De Niro is walking along the street with the money and obviously nervous suddenly morphs back to the 30's, and there's no apparent reason for this little sequence other than that jump-back. I also found it hard to believe that De Niro could not recognise James Woods as an older man - he hadn't changed that much and they were supposed to be best friends! The other weak point was that Elizabeth McGovern still looked far too young in the dressing room sequence, and she seemed remarkably happy to see Noodles, despite the fact that their previous encounter was when he raped her (albeit 30 years previously). The jumping forward/back in time was cleverly handled, but I can't help thinking that a chronological flow might be less distracting. Anyway, enough negativity. This is still a great film (definitely in the top 10 of modern gangster movies), and really involves you in the life of the key protagonists. A special mention for Joe Pesci too, who had really only a cameo, but was as excellent as ever.