Gangs of New York (2002)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese | 167 minutes | drama, crime, history | Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Lewis, Stephen Graham, Eddie Marsan, Alec McCowen, David Hemmings, Larry Gilliard Jr., Cara Seymour, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Peter-Hugo Daly, Cian McCormack, Andrew Gallagher, Philip Kirk, Rab Affleck, Bill Barclay, Nick Bartlett, Robert Goodman, Tim Pigott-Smith, Liam Carney, Gary McCormack, David McBlain

‘Gangs of New York’ already opens quite violently with a bloody battle between two gangs, the so-called “natives” led by Bill the Butcher and a group of Irish immigrants that the first group sees as a collection of inferior elements. Both groups make enthusiastic use of all kinds of primitive-looking stabbing, chopping and melee weapons, which ultimately turns the battle into a true blood leaf. The young Amsterdam Vallon has to stand by as his father ‘Priest’ Vallon (the leader of the Irish immigrant group) is killed at the hands of the Butcher. However, the victors leave him alive and years later Amsterdam decides to take revenge for the murder of his father.

Martin Scorsese has made several attempts to paint a cinematic portrait of his beloved hometown of New York and its inhabitants. This time, however, he takes a slightly different approach and goes back in time to bring nineteenth-century New York to life on the silver screen. It soon becomes clear that the current metropolis was a far from pleasant place to stay in the nineteenth century. Street violence, poverty, widespread corruption, ethnic and social tensions and divisions and rival police and fire departments are just a few examples of the ills that plagued the city at the time and are covered extensively in ‘Gangs of New York’. It’s everyone for themselves and charity or social involvement of other people are things that the characters in this film certainly don’t have to count on. In particular, the character William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting, a role played in an inimitable and monumental way by Daniel Day-Lewis, symbolizes the depravity of the metropolitan society depicted in this film. In the first part of the film, Bill the Butcher mainly comes across as a murderous maniac and a real unsociable street criminal. However, this image is quickly adjusted. The Butcher also appears to have the necessary intellect, maintains connections with the most important (legally elected) politicians in the city and has a more than considerable political hand, in short, we are mainly dealing here with a white-collar criminal with slightly psychotic and murderous traits. The fact that this man in ‘Gangs of New York’ is in practice the most powerful figure in the city says enough about the moral universe in which this story takes place. The air of harshness and lawlessness that ‘Gangs of New York’ radiates in all its aspects is further enhanced by the extremely violent nature of the film. The better chopping and carving work is portrayed fairly uncompromisingly, explicitly and without any frills, a fact that may not satisfy every viewer, but an approach that certainly contributes to the realism and character of ‘Gangs or New York’. Story-wise, the film has some illogical twists (for example, why doesn’t Amsterdam kill Bill when the opportunity arises), but the many visual highlights and interesting characters that pass in review throughout the film mean that these critical comments are mostly footnotes that don’t do much. to the quality of this film as a whole.

Despite the fact that the film is mainly built around the character of Amsterdam Vallon, ‘Gangs of New York’ is undoubtedly more than just a cinematographic life story of this Irish young man. The film is above all a successful attempt to create a time document of the city of New York in the turbulent nineteenth century. The social, economic and demographic transition and growth of a large city under construction are simply accompanied by growth spurts and negative excesses, is the message that this film seems to want to convey, which also at the same time conveys the raw character of ‘Gangs of New York ‘ can be explained. The film can also be understood as a metaphorical or small-scale portrayal of a transition process that occurred in many parts of the United States at this stage of history, namely the rapid transition from a largely semi-autarkic peasant society to a more urbanized, merchant capitalism. based society. ‘Gangs of New York’ is certainly not a cheerful or light-hearted film and certainly shows some weaknesses here and there. Nevertheless, this production, especially because of the authenticity, the visual effects and the good acting, is a must for every serious film buff.