Rent Gangs of New York (2002)

An epic thriller set in 19th-century New York - Gangs of New York review by Philip in Paradiso

This is a film about the criminal underworld in New York city, between about 1845 and 1875. A gang of 'natives' (i.e. Protestant Americans of English origin, from what we are given to understand), led by a sadistic criminal called The Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis, utterly scary and realistically portrayed), is fighting it out with the Irish immigrants, who are despised because they are new arrivals in the city and Catholic. This happens against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the issue of slavery. A good deal of it is based on historical facts.

The acting is good and Cameron Diaz is surprisingly convincing as the female lead in the story, who is a talented thief herself. The film sets look a little bit cardboard-like at times, I must say (it was filmed in Cinecitta, in Italy, I believe). And there is a lot of extreme violence, mostly involving knives and meat cleavers, so, it is not a film for the faint-hearted.

Having said all this, there is an epic and symbolic dimension to the movie that does make it relevant and captivating, also because the lead characters are unusually complex for a story of this kind. I certainly recommend the movie, which you will not forget.

Brilliant, Classic Movie from 2002, with a brilliant script & cast, especially Daniel Day-Lewis - Gangs of New York review by PV

I watched this 2002 movie a couple of years after its release and then again in 2024 - and I was amazed really. What first struck me is how woke demands would now mean they would not DARE use the racial language which characters use here - these days the new puritans are po-faced wokies who demand the 'N-word' etc are banished from our screens in case they make viewers feel 'unsafe'. They'd also demand colourblind casting, so black and Asian actors throughout in main roles and more women too. It would be film-making by pc committee which is what we now have (see the Disney woke-ageddon disaster).

Ironically, there are more Chinese-American characters here than I have ever seen in any historical US movie which tend to focus exclusively on African-Americans and sometimes socalled 'Native Americans' (actually earlier immigrants). Chinese immigrants have been in north America for centuries as workers and more, and yet they get completely ignored. Maybe they lack the loud pressure groups? The political affiliation? How ironic considering the corrupt politics shown in this movie, Nothing changes, it seems.

SO enjoy this (and the rest of the archive) for we shall never see their like again. The way this movie tells a little-known part of American history straight, without the usual woke tutting and white/west-blaming fingerpointing is really refreshing. This is no lecture or sermon, as so often movies are these days. It just shows a version of what happened.

The endless Oirish diddy-diddly-dah blarney is trowelled on too thickly for me here, but the whole film is utterly dominated by a brilliant towering performance by Daniel Day Lewis which is still mind-blowingly brilliant.

The writer Jay Cocks (born 1944) must take credit for that too. He has not written that many produced screenplays (6 or so), but the same writer did an uncredited rewrite of Titanic by James Cameron apparently. So they are his masterpieces.

Brilliant costumes, characters, a fine British cast of supporting characters such as Jim Broadbent, Eddie Marsden, Stephen Graham and veteran actor David Hemmings - all so great. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it after a gap of over 15 years. This is how epic film-making should be done - and is what Hollywood used to do SO well, once upon a time. Occasionally as with Napoleon by Brit Ridley Scott, the ambition sneaks through still, not not a lot.

4.5 stars rounded up.

And a lovely lack of CGI here, maybe the last time we shall see that - ever. Great set pieces, superb and vast sets.

A stratospheric & incredible Day-Lewis cannot overcome the script problems, but still a great film - Gangs of New York review by TB

Daniel Day-Lewis is one of my two favourite actors. He is quite simply one of the greatest actors of all time. He is a chameleon, a total spark of genius. There is a reason why he is the only actor to hold 3 Best Actor Oscars. And whilst this film has some significant script & other issues, this for me is his greatest performance, despite My Left Foot being his best film. It was in many senses a miracle he was even in it. After semi-retiring from acting after The Boxer, Day-Lewis went off grid. It was only Scorsese's persistence & the character of Bill that made him come back.

I find it hard to describe just how phenomenal & electric Bill is. Even though I have seen this film multiple times, his performance has not lost one iota of the violence, fear & electricity I felt the first time I saw it. Bill is a coiled spring of anger & hate, ready to explode at any point. But it is just as moving when he is calm, such as the conversation whilst draped in the American flag.

But this towering performance also has an unintended consequence: he makes almost everyone else look like a cardboard cutout in comparison. And this is where the film has its problems. The main one is that the other two leads (DiCaprio & Diaz,) are totally miscast. Despite the excellent work that he has done with Marty since, here DiCaprio is totally out of his depth. The accent is terrible, he never convinces & I suspect that in many ways he has been cast due to his star power/to get the film funded. Diaz doesn't really fare any better, although I felt she was the stronger of the two. She did fairly well convey the trauma of her early life & how in a sick way Bill had saved her, despite her going from one sort of oppression to another.

There are some notable great performances, the main one being Jim Broadbent as the corrupt mayor. He gets some great lines & his face-offs with Bill are great. Stephen Graham & Gary Lewis also have memorable scenes as well.

But the other issue with this film is it's length & script. This film had an extremely tortured road to production, with multiple rewrites & arguments behind the scenes. The film was a longtime passion project for Scorsese & it is easy to see why he wanted to make it, especially it's setting in Little Italy & rival gangs fighting for control of the streets.

So why, despite all this criticism, do I give it 4 stars? Well, the main reason I have described above & let me make it clear, without Day-Lewis, this film would totally fail. I cannot even imagine De Niro, who was originally cast, being able to do as good a job. But also, this film is in every way an epic. And this feel is what carries the film through, despite it's issues. You are swept up in it, showing how the modern New York was created.

So absolutely a film to watch and love. But I bet you all the money in the world that once it finishes, the only thing on your mind will be Day-Lewis and this, his greatest ever performance.