American Gangster

Overall score:

Starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Eijofor, Ruby Dee, Josh Brolin, Armand Assante 
Writteren by Steven Zaillian 
Directed by Ridley Scott 
Rated R (Violence, pervasive drug content, language, nudity and sexuality)

American Gangster is not a film for the squeamish. It literally cements its R rating in the first 30 seconds. Even for a fairly hardened film viewer like myself, there are moments in this film so shocking, so disturbing, that I found it difficult to sleep the night I saw it. However, while I will admit that I considered some of the nudity gratuitous and would have preferred to see it cut down, most of the harsh content is necessary to tell this dark, compelling story that director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Blade Runner, BlackHawk Down) has made into a tour de force, a Godfather for the 21st century, and a prime Oscar contender.

The story, based on fact, concerns Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), the driver for Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson in the late 1960s. Bumpy is one of those movie gangsters that seems to be beloved by all despite his crimes. He is known to many as "the Robin Hood of Harlem." When Bumpy dies of a heart attack, Frank discovers the truth of the business: Bumpy, for all his power, was truly a figurehead.

As seemed to be the case in all facets of life, black people wielded little actual power. Frank sets out to truly control Harlem, to show the mafia establishment that a black man can be a force to be reckoned with. He does this after discovering that, in the raging battefields of Vietnam, pure heroin is easily available. Frank takes advantage of a military connection to begin importing the heroin, which he dubs "Blue Magic", and selling the top quality drugs at ludicrously cheap prices, creating a drug monoploy, a sort of Wal-Mart of sin.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) struggles to balance his life as a cop, his law school studies, and his custody battle with ex-wife Carla Gugino over their son. Richie is a rarity in his environment: an honest cop who will have no part of corruption. When stumbling across one million dollars in unmarked bills stolen by fellow cops--an easy situation to take the money, run, and never be caught--he turns it in without thinking twice, earning the hatred of his fellow officers because "they can't trust him." This sort of action, and the lack of acceptance of his fellow officers, leads Richie to take a job as leader of a Federal Anti-Drug Task Force.

Scott and screenwriter Steve Zaillian (Schindler's List) expertly balance the two equal leads and plot threads, creating stories that are haunting, compelling, brutal, and moving. It's easy to root for Richie--after all, he's a good cop, though we later learn that his honesty is marred by some less savory traits. What's surprising is how much sympathy is built for Frank; in The Departed, Jack Nicholson's Frank Costello was nothing but a slimeball. Washington's Frank Lucas commits equally despicable acts, and yet is not only charismatic (it's Denzel, afterall), but a devoted family man who truly loves his mother and brothers.

Seeing this former dirt-poor share cropper bring his mother and family to a brand new mansion of their own, one almost gets a lump in one's throat, despite the fact that the mansion was bought with the worst sort of blood money. And, strangely, it's hard not to admire Frank's ingenuity; his plan for smuggling heroin from Vietnam is nothing short of brilliant, though undeniably evil. And the racial undertones make for a compelling philosphoical struggle; the viewer actually roots for Frank as he rises above his poor background and the racism of the mob to prove he can do this better than anyone.And yet . . . what he is doing so well is unspeakable. The scenes of heroin addict mothers and their malnourished babies nearly made me vomit, and I am not easily shaken.

Of course, Richie's drug task force closes in on Frank, while facing the opposition of a corrupt New York cop (Josh Brolin, probably still best remembered as the oldest "Goonie", in a scene-stealing turn). As mentioned before, the plot threads are blanced seamlessly. Scott may posses the greatest eye for visual storytelling in Hollywood history (okay, Coppola is a contender, but that was back when he was making The Godfather, not "Jack"), and is aided by his usual editor, Pietro Scalia, one of the finest in the business. Scott and Scalia create montage sequences that are likely to be required viewing in film schools for decades to come.As is always the case with a Ridely Scott film, this is a visual marvel, a painting where most films are mere sketches.

But Scott's visually virtuosity is more than matched by his storytelling prowess. There is not a wasted or flabby moment in the 157 minute running time. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he has a brilliant writer in Zaillian, and two of the great actors of our time in Washington and Crowe. But, actually, the standout, in a minor role, as Frank's mother, is Ruby Dee, who delivers a shattering monologue that left me speechless and numb.

American Gangster is far too rough a film to appeal to everyone. While I adamantly defend my six clock review, I wouldn't dream of telling everyone to see it. Many people just won't be able to handle it. There were times when I wasn't sure I could. But, not only is it a brilliant piece of filmmaking, visually and technically , it left me deep in thought for days afterward. How often does a film do that? We are left with a disturbing, harrowing look at good and evil, and how they are not always what they appear to be, and how the best and worst can exist in all of of us. And the viewer is forced to wonder: which choices would I make? Would I give back the million dollars? Would I justify immoral actions because I'm hurting people who have oppressed my people and have it coming? The right and wrong are obvious, but the choices are not easy. It is this moral complexity, this realism, this profundity, that makes Amercian Gangster a film for the ages, a new classic in the pantheon of Hollywood crime epics.

As mentioned, American Gangster is a hard R. Don't even think about taking anyone under 17 to see this.

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Written by Paul Gibbs on November 02nd, 2007