American Gangster
Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin and Lymari Nadal
Dir: Ridley Scott
Rating: 4/5
American Gangster is based on the true story of Frank Lucas (Washington), a Harlem crime lord of the 1970s.
He took on the mafia by selling uncut heroin direct from Thailand, with a little help from American armed forces, and selling it cheaper.
Cop Richie Roberts heads a drugs task force whose sole purpose is to clean up the streets of New York which have become over run with drugs.From the opening scene were we see Lucas pouring petrol over a bound man and calmly setting him alight it's clear that this is the best part for Washington since his Oscar winning turn in Training Day.
Lucas may be a savage and cold hearted killer but he is a tender husband and a capitalist.
It was now down to writer Steve Zaillian to find him a worthy adversary.
And it comes in the form of Russell Crowe's Richie Roberts. Incorruptible on the job, turning in $1 million drug money instead of keeping it, he is a divorced father and a womaniser with strong links to New York's underworld.
While many cops and robber film in the past have concentrated on gun fights and explicit violence American Gangster's director Ridley Scott has, instead, focused on the relationships of his two main characters: with Lucas the films looks at his relationship with his wife and his family and with Richie the relationship with his estranged wife and his colleagues after being branded a leper for turning in the $1 million.
But avid fans of this genre of film will be quick to realise that Scott has copied the main, and very successful, element of Michael Mann's Heat; De Niro and Pacino had just one scene together in almost three hours.
Similarly Crowe and Washington, who are re-uniting for the first time in over a decade, come face to face for the first and only time at the end of the film in an interview room.
Alone together these two Oscar winners and modern greats lock horns in a bid to out manoeuvre each other providing one of the best scenes in the whole picture.
Scott's almost flawless direction shows the meltdown Of Manhattan in the 1970s in full swing as drugs flood the streets and those who use it doing anything to score.
However this is a tad long at 157 minutes and possibly some scenes, in particular the court battle Richie has with his wife over their son despite adding backstory to his character, could have been cut down or removed entirely.
2007 has been a great year for this genre of film with The Departed winning Best Picture at the Oscars and this offering from veteran director Scott is definitely in with a shout come award season.
In all this is an engrossing story, made better by the fact that it's true, it visually slick with exciting set pieces.
But the films real plus point is it's cast as the screen just burns with talent, not just from Crowe and Washington, the support cast of Josh Brolin as crooked cop Trupo and Cuba Golding Jr. as Lucas' rival Nicky Barnes are also excellent.
Scott without a doubt has delivered his best picture since Gladiator producing a movie that is not one a contender for film of the year but will slot in nicely next to classics such as The French Connection and Scarface.
Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Sir Ridley Scott