|
Cinema Plus
A treat for the movie buff
engaging narrative From American Gangster
engaging narrative From American Gangster
American Gangster
Genre: Drama
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Storyline: How one man almost monopolised the heroin business in America
Bottomline: Finally, a solid gangster movie
Honesty has been an under-rated virtue in American films. More so, in gangster films, where stylisation of the narrative has often ended up glorifying the bad guys more than the good chaps.
American Gangster not only gives the good guys their due, like The Untouchables did, it also explores the shades of good and bad on both sides of the law. Ridley Scott thus breaks stereotype and makes every bit of the two hour-forty-two-minute narrative engaging.
Full credit to Steven Zaillian’s screenplay that intercuts between the two tracks, exploring both sides of the American dream. First, there’s detective Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe) who turns in one million dollars found in the trunk of a car, much to the disbelief of his colleagues and partner. And then, there’s the hardworking, classy, loyal driver to a mob boss, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) who senses an opportunity even in times of war and emergency: Smuggling heroin into the country using U.S. Army planes.
The beauty of the complexity in characterisation and storytelling emerges when you learn that Ritchie is the one with the dysfunctional family, (he even sleeps with other women during his divorce) and uses the most crude methods of investigation, while Frank is not just well-suited up, he’s a loyal one-woman man who cares for family, plays a piano and does his business with his sense of ethics intact.
In spite of this juxtaposition of opposites deviating from type, at no point do you feel that what Frank does is glorified. The shots of drug use and the deaths caused by overdose instantly put things in perspective.
The first half of the film sets it up like the first part of the trilogy: The rise of an all powerful gangster and an enterprising businessman and the back-story of the investigating detective: the man who would hopefully/probably bell the cat. And the second half moves in full speed ensuring that the tracks criss-cross and affect each other.
Enough has been written about Denzel Washington’s brilliance and towering performance that is the hallmark of the film. The fantastic actor that he is, he makes this part seem like a cakewalk. Russell Crowe’s is certainly the meatier part for an actor and Crowe lends the role a sense of believability, making Ritchie come to life. When he half-jokes about regretting turning in the money, you almost believe him for a second. For those of us used to see an actor play the honest cop with a uni-dimensional monotone, Ritchie is a revelation.
Ridley Scott’s focus is as much on the history as on the drama required out of a gangster film. So you will find the violence and action that goes with the genre but only when it is absolutely necessary. Which is why the end seems a little abrupt as Scott relies on Supers (superimposed text) to tell us how they all ended up instead of actually showing us. But given that truth is stranger than fiction, we are glad he didn’t show the aftermath of the case. It would have looked straight out of a masala movie, in spite of it being the truth.
Now, American Gangster is based on a true story. So it does not take a genius to figure out that the film will ultimately lead to a face off between these two extremely talented Academy Award winning actors.
American Gangster is not about what happens but about how it all unfolds. Absolutely delightful stuff for the movie buff.
So if you are the kind who believes cinema is about what happens next, try next door. There’s National Treasure 2 playing to challenge your brain cells.
SUDHISH KAMATH
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Cinema Plus
|
