Gangs Of New York

What's the Plot?

New York, 1846. The toughest are in the sprawling city - The Five Points - is about to lay witness to a fight that will determine who owns the place - the natives led by Bill The Butcher (Daniel Day Lewis) against the immigrants led by The Priest, Vallon (Liam Neeson). The battle is over when Bill takes the Priest's life in front of his son and claims The Five Points his.

1862. Bill still runs the area and quietly, the Priest's son Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio), slips back into circulation with only one purpose - to kill the man who took his father's life. Amsterdam's vendetta however, is in fear of being engulfed by the growing unrest in the city as the locals and the immigrants begin to clash even more so as the Draft riots break out due to the American Civil War. The fact that Amsterdam has fallen for Bill's girl Jenny (Cameron Diaz), won't help matters either.

Jenny (Cameron Diaz)

Let's pass on the "troubles" of this year's epic and cut to the chase. Scorsese's 168-minute ballad to the birth of his favorite city is both brilliant and flawed. The camera has so much to show the viewer that at times, is visually stunning as well as shocking! From a rising shot which makes the inside of a brewery look like hell, to the sight of the blood-soaked snow after the first battle for control of The Five Points, Scorsese manages to pack into the first 20 minutes, more than other films can across their entire running time. He also has two stricking performances from the ever dependable Neeson (it's a total shame that he dies) and a very good likeness of Scorsese's main man, DeNiro, from Daniel Day Lewis, whose speech to DiCaprio is sheer class.

Bill The Butcher (Daniel Day Lewis) with a gang of Natives

After the opening segment, we are served up a traditional love triangle leaving the viewer in mind of a recent epic where a love story is played out against a backdrop of immense, historical importance - Titanic. However, DiCaprio has a much stronger, darker character this time round to match the lighting, sets, mood and his wonderful on-screen nemesis - the deliciously, over-the-top and evil Day Lewis.

Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio) ready for a fight!!

The story of revenge and complicated love between the two leads and the appropriately stunning Diaz may be an old one but it's a tried and trusted one. It has more than enough legs on it to go the distance but it seems the makers of Gangs Of New York thought differently. Throughout the second half of the movie a political sub-plot bubbles underneath involving the Civil War and the treachery involved in trying to control New York. Admittedly, it is interesting but when Amsterdam and Bill finally get their showdown, it's all drowned out in a sea of noise and confusion as Scorsese hit the city and the audience with a full-blown riot involving cannon firing ships and intense gore.

A bold, brave and beautiful film, let down by it's last 30 minutes which is dangerous since most movie-goers will only remember the end of a flick.