Gangs of New York (2002)

A few nights ago, my husband and I watched Gangs of New York (2002). It was not as bad as everyone said it was. We watched it on a cable network that mercifully cut or blurred most of the extreme violence, nudity, and foul language. The score was phenomenal, especially the use of the violin music. The Irish songs in the background amidst the total squalor and corruption of Five Points were very moving. One senses the indomitable spirit of a fighting people. We always forget what the immigrants experienced when they first landed here. I can see why my great-great-great grandfather preferred to settle in Canada where he had to deal with wolves and some prejudice but otherwise he was alone in the wilderness; no nasty street gangs.

I wish I knew more about the Irish experience in New York City. Was someone like "Bill the Butcher" really allowed to go around chopping people up? People have compared Bill the Butcher, masterfully played by Daniel Day Lewis, to Bill Sykes in Dickens' Oliver Twist, but I think it is a weak comparison. Bill Sykes was an ignorant, blundering, repellent, murdering psychopath but Bill the Butcher was a cunning, devious, charming, murdering psychopath. The scene when they were all dancing with the candles was sheer beauty. However, it ruined the romance when the hero and heroine had to immediately have a roll in the hay; it destroyed the ambiance, totally.

All the acting was superb. I usually do not care for Cameron Diaz and some critics thought that she was miscast. I beg to differ; I thought she made a great tavern wench, with that tough, hungry, wounded look. Yet she sparkled with audacity and hope, in spite of her surroundings. The sets were gruesomely realistic; we could almost smell the dung and waste in the streets.

I got some ideas for my Irish novel. Share