Gangs of New York

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Gangs of New York is a 2002 film made by the studio Miramax, set in the middle 19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan. The film is loosely inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 book The Gangs Of New York.

Gangs of New York is about the conflict between the "native" criminal underworld associated with the Know-Nothings and the immigrant gangs controlled by Tammany Hall. Amsterdam Vallon (DiCaprio) is a young Irish-American who gains the trust of William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting (Day-Lewis), leader of the Nativist gangs. The character of Cutting is based on Bill 'The Butcher' Poole, a real-life leader of the Bowery Boys gang who is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

The films opens in 1846, but most of the action takes place in the early 1860s, when the two principal controversies in New York were the great wave of Irish immigration to the city and the federal government's prosecution of the American Civil War. The story follows the careers of Amsterdam and Cutting as they rise from crime bosses to political kingmakers during the reign of Boss Tweed (Broadbent), and culminates with a confrontation between them that coincides with the New York Draft Riots of 1863.

Tagline: America Was Born In The Streets.

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Plot Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Image:Leo Scor Diaz(GangsofNY)-.jpg The film opens in 1846 in Lower Manhattan, specifically the "Five Points" district (now the area near Two Bridges). A territorial war has been raging for years between gang members known as "natives" and those of the immigrants. The natives are led by a vicious sociopath, William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting, also a Protestant, who possesses an open hatred of immigrants. The leader of the immigrant Irish, the "Dead Rabbits," is Priest Vallon, a Catholic, who has a young son, Amsterdam. The battle that breaks out in Paradise Square is horrific and bloody and during the combat, Bill kills Priest Vallon and Amsterdam is a witness. Cutting declares that the Dead Rabbits will exist no longer and that Vallon's body will be buried whole instead of being mutilated for souvenirs. Amsterdam, seizing the knife used to kill his father, races off and buries it. He is found and taken to the orphanage at Hellgate.

The story picks up 16 years later when Amsterdam leaves Hellgate a grown man. (He also tosses the Bible given to him in the river.) He returns to the Five Points and almost immediately begins to plot his revenge against Bill. He reunites with an old friend, Johnny, who introduces him to Bill the Butcher. Johnny's small group also steals and loots for Bill and Amsterdam quickly becomes Bill's right-hand man.

In voiceover, Amsterdam also informs the viewer that the current political climate is about to explode: arriving immigrants, most of them Irish, are taken immediately from the boats and drafted into the Union Army. Anyone who has the wavier fee of $300 can buy their way out of service. Additionally, Tammany Hall, a local political machine, and its opponents are fighting for control of the city.

Amsterdam also meets a young lady, Jenny Everdeane, who is an expert pickpocket and grifter who preys upon Manhattan's upper class by pretending to be a maid. Shortly after meeting her, Amsterdam discovers that she has stolen his pendant of St. Michael, given to him by his father before his death. He stalks her to the Upper East Side and forces her to return it. It becomes apparent in the scene that he is strongly attracted to Jenny, and she to him.

Amsterdam gradually gains the confidence of Bill, who becomes his mentor. They plot to disrupt the candidacy of Boss Tweed, a corrupt politician who heads the equally corrupt Tammany Hall. Tweed's influence is spread throughout Lower Manhattan from boxing matches to sanitation services and fire control. Amsterdam also finds out that each year on the anniversary of the Five Points battle that Bill leads the city in saluting the victory of his gang over the Dead Rabbits. It is during this ceremony that Amsterdam plans to kill the Butcher in front of the whole city.

During a performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin an assassin shoots Bill but fails to kill him. Amsterdam's relationship with Bill is strengthened by the incident; he warns Bill of the assassin. However, Amsterdam still feels guilty that he warned Bill of the shooter in order that he keep Bill alive to fulfill his plot of vengeance. Both he and Bill retire to a brothel and Amsterdam finds an empty room for himself and Jenny Deane. He wakes up sometime later and finds Bill sitting in a rocking chair, draped in a tattered American flag. Bill speaks of the downfall of civilization and how he has maintained his power over the years through the "spectacle of fearsome acts."

The evening of the ceremony arrives. Unbeknownst to Amsterdam, Johnny, who was also attracted to Jenny, catches Amsterdam and Jenny in the throws of passion. He then informs Bill of Amsterdam's true identity (i.e., Priest Vallon's son) and revenge being leveled against him. Bill baits Amsterdam with a knife-throwing act involving Jenny, where he aggressively targets her, even superficially cutting her throat. Bill becomes the center of attention when he makes the toast. At that moment Amsterdam throws a knife at Bill (the same knife Bill used to kill Priest Vallon years before), who easily blocks the shot. He counters with a throw of his own, hitting Amsterdam in the abdomen. Bill viciously beats him, as the crowd cheers him on, marks his cheek with a heated blade, and casts him out.

Amsterdam survives his wounds, largely because of Jenny's nursing. She implores him to join her in a voyage to San Francisco to escape New York. The two are visited by Walter "Monk" McGinn, who gives Amsterdam the straight razor that belonged to his father and tells them that the time is right for Amsterdam to emerge from underground. He does and places a dead rabbit on a fence in Paradise Square. The rabbit finds its way to Bill who charges the local policeman, Happy Jack, to find out who sent the message. Jack tracks down Amsterdam and chases him through the catacombs into the local church where Amsterdam kills him. He hangs his body in Paradise Square where Bill laments the loss of an easily bribed and manipulated policeman.

Boss Tweed approaches Amsterdam with a plan to defeat Bill and his influence: They will back the candidacy of Monk McGinn for sheriff, the first step towards defeating Bill. They rig the election and Monk wins on a platform of working for the people. Bill visits Monk and refuses Monk's offer to negotiate, killing him in his own shop.

The killing of Monk prompts Amsterdam to challenge Bill to a gang battle, much like the one that took place in 1846. They agree to various rules and will do battle in Paradise Square. Amsterdam's gang will resurrect the name of the Dead Rabbits.

The Draft Riots break out just as the rival gangs are preparing to fight. (The riots in the story serve as more of a distraction to the authorities, keeping them from breaking up the gang battle.) Many residents of the city are attacked by those protesting the drafts. Union Army soldiers march through the city streets attempting to control the rioters.

Bill's gang and Amsterdam's meet in Paradise Square. At the moment they are ready to fight each other, the Union Navy fire their cannon into the city, directly into Paradise Square. An enormous cloud of dust and debris covers the area and Amsterdam loses sight of Bill. Bill rushes at his foe from the haze, slashing Amsterdam several times. They finally meet face to face the moment a cannon blast throws them both to the ground. Weakened by a piece of shrapnel impaled in his side, Bill's last words are that he "died a true American". Amsterdam fatally stabs him.

In the film's final scenes, the dead are collected for burial. Bill's body is taken to Brooklyn and buried in view of the Manhattan skyline. Jenny and Amsterdam both pay tribute to Bill and the frame shifts several times to reflect the intervening growth of the city between 1864 and the present day. One of those shots includes the World Trade Center towers.

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Criticism

While praised for the accuracy in reproducing costumes and the general environment of the mid-1800 New York City, the film has been criticized for greatly exaggerating the violence in the gang fights and city riots, and also for historical inaccuracies. Bill "The Butcher" Cutting is based on the real life gang leader Bill Poole, who did not come from Five Points and was assasinated before the Draft riots (See for example [1], [2] and [3].

The movie also makes it seem as though Chinese people were common in New York despite the fact that only 25 Chinese people are known to have lived there at the time. [4]

Another source of criticism is that the film ends with a shot of modern-day New York City, complete with the World Trade Center Towers, despite their having been levelled by the September 11, 2001 attacks, before the film's release. Scorsese has stated that he left it in because he wanted to make a film about the people who made New York, not the people who tried to destroy it.

The film was criticized also on its merits and many critics have stated that the film was flawed with respect to other Scorsese films, though it has its share of vocal supporters. Roger Ebert, one of Scorsese's longtime supporters, while giving the film a positive review admitted that it fell short of greatness. The arguments frequently cited are its pacing and lack of character depth (one of Scorsese's hallmarks). While Daniel Day-Lewis received considerable acclaim for his performance and considered by fans of popular culture as one of the best cinematic villains in recent years, others felt that Leonardo DiCaprio did not have the intensity to match his performance.

Some critics have stated that the film may have suffered due to its pre-production controversies. The film was shelved for over a year and rumors have abounded of disputes between the producer Harvey Weinstein and the director and that Scorsese had to make cuts. Because of this some state that a director's cut would clear up the film considerably. However, Scorsese has stated that the theatrical version is his final cut and has spurned the practice of releasing directors' cuts several times.

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Cast

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See also

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External links

de:Gangs of New York es:Gangs of New York fr:Gangs of New York it:Gangs of New York ja:ギャング・オブ・ニューヨーク

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