2008 Woodie Awards
Choppy editing weakens great 'Gangster' performances
By: Phil Hornshaw
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Lifeline
- Page 1 of 1
"American Gangster" mostly is an opportunity for Denzel Washington to flex.
He flexes acting muscle constantly, in every scene - he's a slightly less volatile version of his "Training Day" villain, with the same result.
Washington is drug-peddling gangster Frank Lucas, who figures out a better way to be a criminal than anyone in the New Jersey/New York area.
He knows the way to do things - keep a low profile and be good to the people. But sooner or later, he starts making enemies, like corrupt cops and mobsters he's put out of business.
Lucas' rise to power is told in parallel to the family struggles of Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe, "3:10 to Yuma"), just about the only cop in the early 1970s not on the take.
He's dishonest in his other exploits, though, as his wife says during a custody hearing - he's cheated on her and can't make time for his son.
But as a cop, Roberts is dedicated and unyielding, and he's matched only by Washington's unrelenting drive toward getting what he wants.
The story unfolds much like most gangster movies. This is both good and bad; on the one hand, "Gangster" handles all the best parts of movies like "Goodfellas" and "Scarface" with inspired and humble skill. Director Ridley Scott knows what he's doing and he knows how to tell a gangster story.
But the storytelling is hampered by the similarities as well. Since we've all seen a variation of this movie before, constant comparisons are inevitable.
And that means the performances are what keep "American Gangster" going.
Unfortunately, those performances are marred by an editing technique that often bounces between characters without a fluid idea of who is who and what is going on.
Partially this is the fault of having a huge cast of characters - Lucas' family, Richie's family, other cops, villains, Italian mobsters, Richie's partner, Richie's team of drug-busters, Lucas' suppliers in Vietnam. The list goes on.
Partially, the storytelling issues are the fault of cutting into sections of story without a sufficient setup as to what is going on. Scott leaves a lot to the audience to figure out, but often we're left wondering who the characters we're watching are and why they're significant.
Sometimes, it seems, the characters aren't significant at all.
This problem gets cleaned up later in the film, and things go much more smoothly later on. Lucas continues to fluctuate between ruthless and compassionate with pitch-perfect accuracy from Washington. Richie descends into obsession as he figures out Lucas' crime ring, at the cost of his personal life.
It's a conglomeration of bits and pieces of other films held together with the glue of two actors who today are at the top of their game.
Not a best-picture winner, but there are worse ways to spend a $8.
Four of five stars
He flexes acting muscle constantly, in every scene - he's a slightly less volatile version of his "Training Day" villain, with the same result.
Washington is drug-peddling gangster Frank Lucas, who figures out a better way to be a criminal than anyone in the New Jersey/New York area.
He knows the way to do things - keep a low profile and be good to the people. But sooner or later, he starts making enemies, like corrupt cops and mobsters he's put out of business.
Lucas' rise to power is told in parallel to the family struggles of Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe, "3:10 to Yuma"), just about the only cop in the early 1970s not on the take.
He's dishonest in his other exploits, though, as his wife says during a custody hearing - he's cheated on her and can't make time for his son.
But as a cop, Roberts is dedicated and unyielding, and he's matched only by Washington's unrelenting drive toward getting what he wants.
The story unfolds much like most gangster movies. This is both good and bad; on the one hand, "Gangster" handles all the best parts of movies like "Goodfellas" and "Scarface" with inspired and humble skill. Director Ridley Scott knows what he's doing and he knows how to tell a gangster story.
But the storytelling is hampered by the similarities as well. Since we've all seen a variation of this movie before, constant comparisons are inevitable.
And that means the performances are what keep "American Gangster" going.
Unfortunately, those performances are marred by an editing technique that often bounces between characters without a fluid idea of who is who and what is going on.
Partially this is the fault of having a huge cast of characters - Lucas' family, Richie's family, other cops, villains, Italian mobsters, Richie's partner, Richie's team of drug-busters, Lucas' suppliers in Vietnam. The list goes on.
Partially, the storytelling issues are the fault of cutting into sections of story without a sufficient setup as to what is going on. Scott leaves a lot to the audience to figure out, but often we're left wondering who the characters we're watching are and why they're significant.
Sometimes, it seems, the characters aren't significant at all.
This problem gets cleaned up later in the film, and things go much more smoothly later on. Lucas continues to fluctuate between ruthless and compassionate with pitch-perfect accuracy from Washington. Richie descends into obsession as he figures out Lucas' crime ring, at the cost of his personal life.
It's a conglomeration of bits and pieces of other films held together with the glue of two actors who today are at the top of their game.
Not a best-picture winner, but there are worse ways to spend a $8.
Four of five stars
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