'The loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room'
American Gangster 8.6
We see Frank Lucas is very loyal to his mob-boss mentor. He inherits a territory and works hard to get the best product, crucially creates a brand name for it and makes a killing. Richie, an idealistic cop, gets a lead into Frank's business, we follow him as he closes in. The third, more minor party in the story is a corrupt cop played by Josh Brolin who unwittingly gets involved and sees an opportunity to earn. Frank is often treated as an underdog and so underestimated by the mob and police which helps him quietly build his empire out of nowhere. In the first hour everything is going smoothly, things start to get more serious about halfway through after Frank agrees to expand his operation and wears a fur coat to a fight, which backfires.
It starts off in a similar way as The Untouchables with the honest cop team, then becomes a bit more like Heat (although it doesn't manage to have the same visual stlye) with the cops n robbers structure, but more so because like in Heat, the cop n robber characters have many similarities. The Russell crowe side of the story takes on a very Serpico vibe when he refuses to take part in the widespread corruption on the force and it ostracised for it. He is unusually, for his profession, highly ethical, just like Frank, so they are a good fit to eventually work together once they have both realised they only have so much control over their respective worlds. The two also have some story similarities, we see both getting a crew together, dealing with authority figures, being screwed over somewhat, the net closing in and of course eventually getting their own back.
This doesn't have the same feel as the average gangster film, just as Frank isn't the average gangster. This is more about business and some politics with relatively little violence, but is still tense and engrossing. The most violence shown is in the first 30 seconds of the film, i think to show that Frank has it in him, but he only shows it occasionally once he is successful. Alot of the plot is shown through montages and narration of Richie's investigation, we get the impression Richie is slightly in awe of Frank.
One of the main themes of the film is the blurred lines between cop and criminal. Alot of the plot is dedicated to the idea that you have good and bad examples of each and that a good cop and a good criminal have more in common than a good and bad cop/criminal, an idea also floated in the Departed. Another main theme is the changing/evolving times, and how easy it is to get left behind, this is something alot of gangster films touch on. A few times we hear how Frank represents progress but he still calls himself a renaissance man. At the start Bumpy says 'what right do they have of cutting out the suppliers, pushing out all the middle men, buying direct from the manufacturer' Frank listens intently, but clearly doesn't agree wholly as he ends up doing exactly that.
The last but one shot is my favourite of the film, Frank has been released from prison after 15 years, he stands alone and looks forlornly into the camera, surrounded by the new world and new breed of gangsters, with hip hop playing, he is lost in his own city. (The final shot of Frank shooting directly into camera was also done by Scorsese at the end of Goodfellas as a tribute to the ending of a 1903 short silent film The Great Train Robbery)
All around very solid performances, for me this is one of Denzel and Russell's best. They both do a great job of being multi dimensional and a bit unpredictable whilst still having clear goals. Alot of strong actors in minor roles including Ted Levine, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Idris Elba. Frank and his Bangkok contact Nate have a good scene or two, these two actors have a great Russian Roulette scene in the Brilliant Malcolm X.
Frank is an interesting character because there's no flashiness, and he is a bit of a perfectionist, he is much more Don Vito than Tony Montana. He wears disguises, uses mostly his family in the business and he discourages them from drawing attention to themselves, he is almost undercover, like Richie. The polar opposite is represented expertly by Cuba Gooding Jr (in the same way Josh Brolin represents the opposite of Richie) I love the scene where he tells off Frank. I've always found the scenes where he first meets the wife to be interesting as he's smooth but still fairly straight and a touch awkward, not trying to be overly charming.. which again fits into his character traits. There is a great melancholic theme tune, which we see performed in this scene. I've got a real thing for a film scene of someone singing live, there are many incredible moments like these from all sorts of films (the very best for me has to be Llorando from Mulholland Drive) I don't know exactly why but its prob sumin to do with how directors always try to reflect the events of the scene in the performance, adding another dimension and usually adding emotion. Another standout moment for me is Frank coming out of church with cops all around.
Its not an issue but i am not sure that the story needs the side plot of Richie's child custody battle and arguments with his ex, it helps to show that he's no angel and a workaholic but i think we would have got that anyway. If he was a good family man that would be one thing and maybe change his outlook on things, but to have a 'broken' family I don't think adds anything personally, unless I've missed the point.
How the story ends is interesting, there is no need for a high-octane climax, i think that would have been wrong. We had the shootout in the flat of course but to essentially end this with a long conversation is quite risky but absolutely justified. This is one of those films that gets a high rating not really because there's anything about it that's so incredible but because it's a bit different and for me there is nothing major wrong with it.
With straight forward directing and simple storytelling, this is all about the great true story, which goes at a decent pace and fits alot in. It has quite a cold, almost washed out look. It feels like a biopic because it doesn't try to grab you with any tricks. It does everything very well without being exceptional filmmaking wise. It's this plain style that has left me a bit cold after a few other Ridley Scott's films but it does work for this one, i think after Gladiator, this is my favourite of his.
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