A Beautiful, Expensive and Important Disappointment

Rating: 6/10 (16 December 2015)

Once Upon a Time in America is the perfect example of a Hollywood film that you hate to love. An obedient film lover will make a list of many reasons why this movie is great. Why it should be on your list of movies to watch and why it should be considered an important work of cinema can be debated and defended time and time again. Still, many will agree that the movie falls short in many ways to be considered a classic. Fans and critics will both agree that Once Upon a Time in American will easily confuse its audience without hardly any trouble. A period piece that jumps around from decade to decade will alone make the time-line confusing to any audience. Throw in character motivation and you have a roller coaster of confusion and endless questioning. With a blockbuster cast of some of the most talented names in Hollywood, and a legendary film maker, it's hard to acknowledge that the end result would be anything less that great. With Once Upon a Time in America, it is just that. Many will support the imperfectness that the movie is by showcasing the several different edited versions and why the final version came to being. Then again, whether or not each version tells a different story, the overall structure of the story still remains. No matter if we have 3 hour or 6 hour version, we are still left with empty characters from the very beginning. With all its faults and mystery that both versions have, the plot, the theme and many of its characters have holes. The potential Once Upon a Time in America had with its reach as a cinematic triumph, falls short from anything spectacular. What could have been one of the best 'American' films, falls among the many mobster flicks which does not do this movie justice. Although the cons do outweigh the pros, the movie holds up with many moments of beauty.