Flawed, but captivating

Rating: 8/10 (8 September 2005)

Once Upon a Time in America tells the story of Noodles (De Niro), a Jewish gangster, who returns to New York in the 1960's and reminisces about his childhood and the events which led to the deaths of his friends and his subsequent flight from the city.
The film has a number of twists and turns and sometimes it is difficult to keep up with the story. However, stick with it and you will be rewarded by an evocative recreation of the period.
The main characters are Noodles and his best friend Max (Woods) who grow up together in the early 20th Century carrying out mostly petty crimes until a tragic confrontation with a neighbourhood rival. A few years later, it is Prohibition era in the US and the friends have moved on to become feared gangsters involved in violent crime and organised labour disputes.
Robert De Niro gives a restrained performance as Noodles as a man haunted by who he is and what he has done; he is not a hero and his actions mean we should not view him as a sympathetic character, yet he is in contrast to the domineering Max (a slick performance by James Woods).
This film is by no means standard Hollywood fare - its long and meandering with a number of side stories which don't seem to go anywhere and you'll need to watch it more than once to try and work out what it's all about. Plus the women in the cast fit neatly into Madonna (Deborah) or whore (Carol) categories and don't get much to do apart from become victims. However, it is a film which stands up to repeated viewings and you'll get something new from it each time.