I wanted to enjoy this film, but I can't...for so many reasons

Rating: 3/10 (27 July 2011)

Without a doubt, Sergio Leone is one of the greatest directors of all time. And Robert De Niro is among Hollywood's finest actors. Though both worked together in this film "Once Upon A Time In America", it is awful. The idea of five childhood friends joining together to start an empire of crime is an interesting idea—which pulled me into viewing this nearly 4-hour feature. So, what makes this movie so bad?
Mostly, it is the direction of how the story unfolds. The film's primary focus is on David Aaronson, nicknamed Noodles. The movie jumps around a bit, starting in 1933 (when Noodles is an adult); then jumping 30 years to 1968 (when he is an old man), going back in the 1920s (when he is a kid) and so on. The theme that Leone tries to display to the viewer's is about a man filled with regret and remorse from the way his life turned out, as well as the fate of his friends. I like this. But Leone throws in so many scenes that aren't relevant to the plot.
One, is the numerous amounts of sex sequences. Within the first hour of the film, teenage boys are seen doing an obese teen prostitute. How is this pertinent to the movie? It isn't. Later on, there are two very graphic rape scenes. Immediately, this puts me off. What's worse is, is that Noodles commits these. They are very painful to watch and they have no purpose to story at all. Ten minutes right here could have been cut. Perhaps though, these instances are thrown in to show how despicable Noodles and gangsters really are.
They are despicable, yet other Hollywood features such as "The Godfather", "Goodfellas", and even "Scarface" somehow hold the magic of making thugs the people to care about. In "Once Upon A Time In America", there is no one to like or care for, except for the innocent bystanders that get murdered or horribly maimed through the duration of the film. This is what the movie lacks; a reason to sit through the film. Without a character to care about, what's the purpose in watching a film? I guess Leone wanted the viewers to see the ugly side of nature, and not so much of an epic story about loss and regret. In addition, there are other scenes that drag the film to the point of a bore fest. One is a three-minute scene of a kid tempted to eat a desert that he was going to original use to impress a girl. Another is an elongated sequence of a phone ringing. Another is a young gal wondering in a dark room to find a lamp to illuminate the set. Again, what's the point in these? Leone is a master of making scenes move by at a slow pace. This is good for his westerns when the good and bad guy square off for a final duel, but not for a kid wanting to eat a desert. Scenes like this divert from the story, making it dull and hard to pay attention to. Leone may have well have added a 5-minute scene of Noodles sitting on the toilet, grunting. In contrast, important scenes and characters are left merely implied. One that comes to mind is Joe Pesci's character. He's such a great actor, but he's only in 1 scene and disappears from radar completely, and you'd think he's the type of character you'd see again. Another is the whole bank job that the gang was going to pull off. It was a setup, but it would've been interesting to see how it unfolded, rather than merely told by a character in the feature.
The acting is not too bad; I was thoroughly impressed by the child actors. Unfortunately there is an awful miscast, Elizabeth McGovern as Noodles love interest. She looked bored through the whole film. Hearing her talk is like listening to nails on a chalkboard. Even Noodles makes the remark to her later in the film, "You're a lousy actress." I chuckled at that, catching a little inside joke there.
I may come off as seeming to hate this movie. Believe it or not, I don't. The cinematographer pulled off some sweeping shots of New York City. The sets and costumes are exquisite, and I love Ennio Morricone's score. I'll admit that at times, Morricone's score was over sentimental and bombastic in some key scenes. The gangster flick is a genre I enjoy, but "Once Upon A Time In America" is not qualified as a great one in my book. It's too bad, because this was Leone's last film, and I hoped this was going to be his best. If you like Sergio, stick with his old westerns.