American Gangster
Denzel Washington is the African-American actor who all America loves, even those people who are vaguely uncomfortable with non-whites in movies. His broad grin, sparkling charm and intelligence, and prodigious acting skills, have won the hearts of America’s filmgoers above any considerations of race. I bring this up because it has got to be an immense challenge still for black men in American cinema to break through all their pigeonholes and appeal-o-meters and so on to get the good roles. Washingon here is portraying a bad, bad man, real-life Harlem figure Frank Lucas, who brought cheap and plentiful heroin to Harlem in the peak of the Vietnam era and poisoned the already corrupt streets of New York with his influence and power. It’s a dark role, one that requires a careful balance of arrogance and confidence, acumen and craziness, and Washington may truly be the best actor to pull it off because of his industry position of esteem.
That said, American Gangster is way too long. It’s incredibly violent, it’s full of ugly pictures of the New York I grew up being scared of, it’s seedy and dangerous, full of corrupt police and under the table politics and bribes and extortion and protection and complex financial arrangements outside the law. It’s very clearly drawn, with no ambiguities of character or form, motive or risk. I enjoyed the contrast between the disciplined, family-first world of the international criminal versus the personal messiness of the morally upright cop who is working to bring him down (Russell Crowe). I love the anti-karmic messages of doing the right thing always seeming to be the wrong decision in the end. It’s very stylishly made but not show-offy - director Ridley Scott is surely responsible for that restraint. He seems to emulate Lucas in his insistence that the loudest guy in the room is the weakest - why trumpet and make a big fuss with crazy camera shots when the straight-shot truth is so much more effective.
Writer Steve Zaillian’s work has a pretty wide range of palatability, but however you feel about his movies individually, you have to admit that he does not pull any punches or flinch from any avenue that will take him down his narrative. Examples? Schindler’s List, Mission Impossible, Hannibal, Gangs of New York, All The King’s Men. This last film was also directed and produced by him, so you can get a clear feel for what his personal stamp really tastes like. Director Scott keeps everything interesting and on track, even if it is too long.
American Gangster has the notable irony (for me) of casting 4 gentlemen who have played way over the top drag queens as these tough guys. I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose, but it added a certain je ne sais quoi to my enjoyment of their manly conflicts. Also, Josh Brolin sure looked a lot like Burt Reynolds if Burt Reynolds was trying to look like Chuck Norris.
MPAA Rating R-violence, pervasive drug use, language, nudity, sexuality
Release date 11/2/07
Time in minutes 157
Director Ridley Scott
Studio Universal
