Intermission: Scorsese scores with epic 'Gangs of New York'

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Jim Wunderle is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.|ret||ret||tab|

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Epic in proportion and meticulous in detail, "Gangs of New York" is another jewel in the crown of one of the few film geniuses working today, director Martin Scorsese. |ret||ret||tab|

Always fascinated with the city he loves (much like Woody Allen), Scorsese has used New York City as a character in many of his films. With "Gangs of New York," a project that has been on his plate for many years, he dives into the history that shaped the city into what it has become.|ret||ret||tab|

While it deals with subject matter one would associate with other Scorsese works like "Mean Streets" or "Good Fellas," this movie actually has closer binds to the director's version of Edith Wharton's novel "The Age of Innocence." Whereas that film dealt with the morals and mores of upper crust 19th century New York, "Gangs" deals with the grittier reality that was taking place downtown in the Five Point district, when circumstances were forming that would lead to what became the Mafia in the early 1900s. It's a brutal, unflinching history lesson that catches the viewer and draws us into the world Scorsese so adeptly portrays. |ret||ret||tab|

There is not one false moment or scene in the entire movie and the two hours, 40-some minutes fly by.|ret||ret||tab|

As the film opens we see two tribes preparing for battle. There's the Irish based group lead by Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson in a brief, but important, role) and the "native born" Italian gang headed by William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting, played with stunning ferocity by Daniel Day-Lewis. He deserves an Oscar for this work bringing to life one of the most fascinating characters to have ever graced the screen. His mannerisms, his accent and speech patterns, everything he does with this character, reach the height of the acting craft. |ret||ret||tab|

Scorsese has a unique rapport with actors and has the ability to draw out the best in them. He's surely done so here with all of his main characters including Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio and the always-surprising Cameron Diaz.|ret||ret||tab|

The opening battle scene is gruesome in the same way war was portrayed in Mel Gibson's "Braveheart." These people aren't standing back shooting each other or launching rockets, but have armed themselves with knives, swords, hoes, clubs and all manner of instruments suited for up-close, hand-to-hand combat. Scorsese chooses to show this battle in all of its tortuous glory, and this sets the tone for the entire film. |ret||ret||tab|

Outside of the sheer brutality of their warfare, Scorsese also shows the manners and rules that went along with the fighting. Cutter announces a challenge and Priest Vallon responds. Then the bloodshed ensues. |ret||ret||tab|

One of the survivors is Vallon's young son, Amsterdam, who is subsequently raised in an orphanage and returned to the streets as a young man, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. |ret||ret||tab|

Bill the Butcher is still ruling downtown and Amsterdam insinuates himself into the gang and gains favor with the boss. All the while he has the memory of his father's death in his mind, and bides his time for the perfect moment to exact his revenge.|ret||ret||tab|

A fascinating aspect, historically, here is the light that is shed on the type of racism that was common in the middle of the 19th century. The civil war was taking place and as much as the "native born" people of the New York City disliked blacks, they also despised the Irish. |ret||ret||tab|

There was a great influx of Irish immigrants at this time and the righteous "natives" viewed them as a pariah. The Irish were willing to work for lower wages and threatened to take employment and privilege from the good folks who were actually born in this country. It's so very telling in Scorsese's presentation how it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. While the circumstances are somewhat different, a lot of the same sentiment still exists in the United States of the 21st century.|ret||ret||tab|

Things escalate as the Civil War heats up and attacks on blacks and "foreigners" become the all-consuming intent of the "native born" masses. Amsterdam's intentions are eventually uncovered and he becomes Bill the Butcher's greatest adversary. Their face-off is no less brutal and thrilling than the opening scenes of "Gangs of New York," and by the final moments of the film the viewer will be affected, mesmerized and altogether drained.|ret||ret||tab|

This is truly one of the best films in recent memory.|ret||ret||tab|

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