Gangsterrific
posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 in Movie Reviews
American Gangster opens with this scene: Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) sets fire to a man tied to a chair, and then he shoots him. That’s the kind of beginning that jumps out at you, but American Gangster isn’t about the violence. It’s about everything behind the violence, the underlying changes that the violence can distract you from. Like all good gangster movies, American Gangster reminds us that it’s not about the gun, but the man pulling the trigger. It’s a fascinating character study, and a fantastic genre tale. The film is a heavily fictionalized account of the life of Frank Lucas, Harlem druglord. Lucas revolutionized the drug trade back in the seventies, essentially moving away from the archaic familial practices of other crime lords and injected modern business practices into drug supply. His story is juxtaposed against the story of Richie Roberts, a cop made pariah in his own department because of his integrity and honesty. He’s also the cop assigned to take down Lucas’ operation.
To say that the story is heavily fictionalized is almost an understatement. The real Frank Lucas himself has admitted that the film is only about 20 percent truth, but really, most audiences probably won’t care. The story they try to tell in the film is a solid one, and it hits all the major points of the real story, despite all the fabrications. This script is impeccably structured, setting up a powerful character study of two men on opposite sides who only seek to change the way their business is done. The script keeps these two men apart for an incredibly long time, but it manages to form a connection between them, a common insight to these characters’ souls. There are a few pacing flaws, but it’s really quite well done.
This script is brought to life by no less than director Ridley Scott. Scott has always been a fantastic storyteller, and this film will prove to be no exception to his tremendous body of work. His 1970s New York is straight out of classic gangster films, drawing roots from The French Connection and a bit of The Godfather. It’s masterful how he takes these characters and shows us how parallel they truly are. It would have been enough just to keep the audience waiting for these two characters to finally intersect, but Scott goes further than that. He builds a world around them, and he makes it incredibly clear that these two characters, though far apart and almost opposite in every way, occupy the same gritty, corrupt world, and that somehow, they’re changing everything.
Ostensibly, it’s a movie about change. It documents a revolution of sorts, perhaps the last one to create any real, meaningful change in American society. Despite the historical inaccuracies, this is a fine story, and it’s told very, very well. A great cast only helps. Denzel Washington’s Frank Lucas is a terrifying yet charismatic man. This is a man who can make you believe that he can do absolutely anything. It’s a powerful performance that is only matched by that of Russell Crowe. Crowe as Richie Roberts is a complex, compelling character. Honest cops aren’t usually the most interesting characters, but Crowe gives a lot of dimension to every line he gives. The supporting cast is solid, but it’s really all about the two main stars. Audiences will be on the edge of their seats just waiting for these two to collide.
This is a pretty good film, all in all. If anything, the two lead performances are already worth the ticket price. The pacing problems and historical inaccuracies might deter some people, but overall, the film just works. Fans of the gangster genre will definitely love this film.
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