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Just posted a review of American Gangster, which I saw on Friday night. Horrific experience with the crowd there (I'll post about it later), but the film itself was very enjoyable. Here's the review:
American Gangster
Based on real events, American Gangster tells two simultaneous stories. The first is the story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a drug dealer who wrested control of the heroin trade from the Italian mob in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The second is the story of Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), a New York detective trying to bring the heroin trade down.
The film wisely resists any temptation to paint the two as nemeses. They are opposites, however, but while the film does a wonderful job of contrasting them against one another, it's all from a distance. Lucas is unaware of Roberts' investigation for the bulk of the film, and Roberts doesn't even know who he's after at first.
Both characters are well-drawn and intriguing, though Washington's portrayal is the one everyone will be talking about. His Frank Lucas isn't really like any movie gangster we've seen before. He is clean-cut, methodical, and extremely careful. He knows what sorts of things bring a man like him down, and takes steps to avoid them. He's a capitalist, first and foremost, and could just as easily be selling soap as narcotics. It just so happens there's more money to be made in the latter.
Crowe's Roberts has a disjointed personal life, and unfortunately embodies that ancient crime film cliche: the cop who puts his career before his family.
Some have called the character of Lucas the "black Scarface," which is ironic, because the character of Roberts resembles another famous Al Pacino role: Serpico. Roberts is an honest cop in a time and place where corruption is par for the course. Early in the film, he finds $1 million in drug money and turns it in, and then spends the rest of the movie confirming to people that it actually happened.
Because American Gangster is based on a true story, I might be forgiven for revealing some of the twists and turns the film takes. But the film is much more enjoyable if you don't know the specifics, as it helps us appreciate just how clever Lucas' machinations are. One gets the impression that Lucas could have exploited any number of opportunities in the business world, if only he'd have taken notice of them before those afforded by the drug trade.
This film is, at times, brutally violent, though not in a shocking way. It relies on surprise and execution to heighten the impact of the violence, rather than going for the gross-out or shock reaction.
One of the things that helps American Gangster stand out is the quality of its supporting characters. Roberts' partner believably grapples with the line between integrity and corruption, and Lucas' grandmother (Ruby Dee) has a wonderful scene where we learn that she's not as naive as we might have assumed.
The film's last shot will be sure to provoke discussion, not because it features any sort of grand twist or revelation, but because it is rife with potential meaning. Everyone will have their own opinion of what it might be trying to tell us. My own interpretation is this: that Frank Lucas was so focused on being a good businessman that he forgot to be a good man, and that he helped create the world he ultimately finds himself in.
Based on real events, American Gangster tells two simultaneous stories. The first is the story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a drug dealer who wrested control of the heroin trade from the Italian mob in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The second is the story of Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), a New York detective trying to bring the heroin trade down.
The film wisely resists any temptation to paint the two as nemeses. They are opposites, however, but while the film does a wonderful job of contrasting them against one another, it's all from a distance. Lucas is unaware of Roberts' investigation for the bulk of the film, and Roberts doesn't even know who he's after at first.
Both characters are well-drawn and intriguing, though Washington's portrayal is the one everyone will be talking about. His Frank Lucas isn't really like any movie gangster we've seen before. He is clean-cut, methodical, and extremely careful. He knows what sorts of things bring a man like him down, and takes steps to avoid them. He's a capitalist, first and foremost, and could just as easily be selling soap as narcotics. It just so happens there's more money to be made in the latter.
Crowe's Roberts has a disjointed personal life, and unfortunately embodies that ancient crime film cliche: the cop who puts his career before his family.
Some have called the character of Lucas the "black Scarface," which is ironic, because the character of Roberts resembles another famous Al Pacino role: Serpico. Roberts is an honest cop in a time and place where corruption is par for the course. Early in the film, he finds $1 million in drug money and turns it in, and then spends the rest of the movie confirming to people that it actually happened.
Because American Gangster is based on a true story, I might be forgiven for revealing some of the twists and turns the film takes. But the film is much more enjoyable if you don't know the specifics, as it helps us appreciate just how clever Lucas' machinations are. One gets the impression that Lucas could have exploited any number of opportunities in the business world, if only he'd have taken notice of them before those afforded by the drug trade.
This film is, at times, brutally violent, though not in a shocking way. It relies on surprise and execution to heighten the impact of the violence, rather than going for the gross-out or shock reaction.
One of the things that helps American Gangster stand out is the quality of its supporting characters. Roberts' partner believably grapples with the line between integrity and corruption, and Lucas' grandmother (Ruby Dee) has a wonderful scene where we learn that she's not as naive as we might have assumed.
The film's last shot will be sure to provoke discussion, not because it features any sort of grand twist or revelation, but because it is rife with potential meaning. Everyone will have their own opinion of what it might be trying to tell us. My own interpretation is this: that Frank Lucas was so focused on being a good businessman that he forgot to be a good man, and that he helped create the world he ultimately finds himself in.
