Gangs of New York

But first, the story. In essence, it borrows a little from Shakespeare's Hamlet, where a young man tries to redress his father's murder. That's the core of the story, it's been done before, but not quite in this way.

So what's different? Well, for starters, the villian is much more the central character than the hero. And Daniel Day-Lewis really relishes his role, creating a memorable baddie who will haunt you for days afterwards.

Secondly, some Americans did not like this film, and it is easy to see why, since it paints them all in a bad light. Just about every character in the film is corrupt or evil in some way, from the politicians and gentry down to the pickpockets in the streets. Everyone is on the take, everyone is looking out for Number 1, only. I have never seen an entire society painted so corruptly before.

The film features excellent production values, it is easy to believe you are back in the last century, during the American civil war. It deserves the Oscars for which it has been nominated.

Now, as to the bigger picture.... I got the distinct sense that the film was passing commentary on several aspects of current American life, but I'm not sure about this, since it was in production for quite a while. But let's look at some examples...

• The George W Bush election fiasco is referenced obliquely, when a politician says words to the effect that "elections are not won by the voters, but by the counters".

• The film portrays rampant election fraud, with voters voting more than once.

• The movie is extremely violent, yet at the same time seems to be using the violence as a pacifist tool, i.e. asking "is this violence really necessary"? Apart from the bloody streetfights, there is also the backdrop of the civil war. In some telling scenes, we see coffins being loaded off a boat, while at the same time, new recruits are boarding the boat, off to the war, and their deaths. It seemed to me as if this was a warning about the upcoming Gulf war (and war in general).

• Even more bizarrely, this point is reinforced as new Irish immigrants, fresh off the boat, went through a sausage machine which firstly made them US citizens, then signed them into the army, then sent them off to die for "their country".

• The whole political system is exposed as corrupt from top to bottom, with politicians buying votes and favours, and all their actions being determined by the effect on the voters.

• Americans are portrayed as racist and xenophobic.

So, kudos to the scriptwriters and the team who made it all happen... a job well done.

-- Ian Douglas

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