Gangs of New York: A son’s revenge and the birth of a metropolitan

Heading into a movie directed by one of Hollywood’s contemporary greats like Martin Scorsese is usually an assurance of an enjoyable experience filled in with certain measures of thought provoking style and ideologies, and Gangs of New York almost lives up to the same. But all the same, it isn’t among the greatest created by the master. Sure, it does spin a good tale of underworld mafia rule in pre-civilised New York with the impeccable style that Scorsese brings to the table and a few intelligently crafted dialogues; but overall it doesn’t live up to the hype that is Scorsese.

Starting with the death of the protagonist’s father amid a battle of the ‘tribes’ in New York, the film follows Amsterdam Vallon 16 years down the line upon his return to Five Points having been raised in a home for reforms by Christian Missionaries. Amsterdam returns to find that Five Points is run by the Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting, the head of the gang called the Confederation of the American Natives, the very man who killed his father. While the gangs continue to squabble over everyday issues and the folk of Five Points continue to live in fear, The Butcher unceremoniously collects a tribute to allow the small gangs to operate and uphold the corruption among police and politicians which allow him to enjoy his endeared way of life. Amsterdam plots revenge on his father’s killer but is tied down by matters of racism, casteism, friendship, loyalty and love as he rises through the ranks to raise his own army to take down the gang lord.

This film goes down as another well stylised piece of art by Scorsese, adapted from a nonfiction book of the same title. While the plot divulges from actual facts at certain points, the film set in 1862 New York manages to closely represent most of the true events of the time. The costumes, sets and dated language are a credit to the historically placed film. However, the loose plot and constant flurry of characters leave the film as an awry final product. Certain historical inaccuracies and production errors also prove detrimental to the overall film.

Notwithstanding the few letdowns of the production, Gangs of New York circles around important issues which were rampant during the time including racism, slavery, gang wars, class divisions, the American Civil Wars, and more. As a whole, the film ties down important topics of discussion, whether for the right or the wrong reasons.