Product: Mean Streets (1973)
Rating: 5.0
Raw, vivacious, 'Mean Streets' delivers
When the term "gangster film" is brought up in a conversation, especially on university campuses, such motion pictures as "Carlito's Way," "Donnie Brasco," "The Godfather," "Road to Perdition," or even director Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" rocket to the fore. However, arguably the grittiest, most subtly vibrant take on the mob is naturally overlooked by college-aged viewers more familiar with mobster hits of the last 20 years.Scorsese was relatively unknown in 1973, the year of the film's release. He served as associate director as well as head editor to the documentary "Woodstock" in 1970, but it wasn't until the outpouring of a semi-autobiographical tale set in the stark back alleys of New York's Little Italy that Scorsese acquired international critical acclaim. Not since "The Graduate" had a film so deftly interpolated popular tunes of the time into its core. Scorsese's crafty usage of The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, The Shirelles and The Ronettes acted almost as a subconscious voice of reason throughout."Mean Streets" is every bit a semi-autobiographical work. Born in New York in 1942, Scorsese moved with his parents to the Lower East Side when he was eight. An asthmatic youth, Scorsese spent a great deal of time either at the cinema or homebound peering out the window in observation of the neighborhood, fantasizing about the underworld goings-on of the fancifully cloaked gentlemen of Sicilian descent - otherwise known as the mafia.At the age of 14, Scorsese was set on becoming a priest, only to be rejected by his college of choice and ultimately turn to a career in filmmaking. It is his strong affiliation with the Catholic church that seems to catapult his directorial flair to a category unto its own. Although brutal in nature, his films are marked with a profound underlying spiritual fiber, none more so than "Mean Streets."Charlie Cappa, portrayed delectably by then-cinematic novice Harvey Keitel, bears a striking resemblance to Scorsese. Cappa is an ultra-christened tough guy. He devotes a portion of his existence to maintaining a watchful eye on the troublesome Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro), a smart-ass delinquent with outstanding debt around every nook.Cappa exclaims while on the beachfront with Teresa, Johnny's cousin, "Who's going to help him if I don't? Nobody tries anymore - to help, that is. Saint Francis of Assisi had it all down. He knew. He knew."His romantic interest, Teresa, is condemned as insane due to her epilepsy. Despite his dire attempts to right all wrong and keep the parables of Christ in his daily processes as a gangster, Cappa gets caught in the crossfire and encounters his own physical hell - although his essence remains intact. In an early voice-over, he not only explains this inner turmoil, but provides a contemplation on the film as a whole:"Pain and hell has two sides - the kind you can touch with your hand, the kind you can feel in your heart, your soul, the spiritual side; and you know the worst of the two is the spiritual."