Dec 07, 2007 10:49 PM
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(Updated Dec 10, 2007 04:46 PM)
Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott - Three names that are synonymous with intrigue and unparalleled quality in cinematic experience come together in American Gangster.
These guys join forces with screenwriter Steven Zaillian(Schindler's List) to tell the story that could be used as a case study at any leading Business School.
The movie tells the story of Frank Lucas, the Black American drug lord, who emerged out of nowhere to be the dope boss in New York. He gave the quintessential American Dream a new spin.
Let's look at the subject matter before getting to the analysis of the movie. Frank Lucas works as a driver for Bumpy Johnson. He takes care of Johnson and is constantly with him. Johnson teaches him the tricks of the trade. Suddenly after Johnson's death, Frank takes the reigns of the empire in his hands. He decides the run the business.
The rules of the business are pretty simple - Maximize Profits. Cut Middlemen, Buy straight from the manufacturer, Competitive pricing, Pure product. Perfectly legitimate business, would you think? The problem - Product is Heroin! Customers - Harlem, NY.
Frank Lucas is turning the entire Harlem in to drug addicts. He has amassed quite a fortune, while also garnering Richie Roberts'(Crowe) attention.
Crux of the movie - Roberts' attempt to prove Lucas' guilt and bring him down.
Analysis - The movie on the surface might seem to be quite simple, but you scracth the surface, the movie presents a remarkable study of Double-Helix Paradigm.
Understand - Frank has an unethical business, but conducts his business in the most principled manner. He follows all the corporate ethics. He is a guy with his value-systems in place.
Richie, the law enforcer, has his personal life completely messed up! His life has shot to hell. He is going through a divorce. He screws every other girl he lays his eyes on.
What an amazing screenplay that examines the contradictory human characteristics. The way the screenplay intercuts every scene of Frank with a scene featuring Richie, cleverly establishes the paradoxical nature of the characters.
The script also justifies the title - American Gangster. He was the first black guy who challenged the might of the Italian mafia and ended up controlling the dope trade in the New York city. He symbolized progress for the Black community.
The violence in the movie is dry, crude and cold-blooded. Note the opening scene - Frank lights up a guy and then shoots him to death, just to help him off his burns. Man! that scene speaks volumes about the character built-up.
Photography has always been Ridley Scott's forte. American Gangster has been shot in the confined spaces of the Urban jungle of New York. This movie, unlike Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven, doesn't give the director the chance to let the camera capture the sweeping shots. He adopts a very personalized kind of shot-composition to suggest the closed and tight group of Frank's Mafia. The lighting is deiberately dark with loads of shadows to imply the dark, sinister world of the Organized Crime syndicate.
After speaking about Ridley Scott, Steven Zaillian and the technical crew at length, how can we conclude the movie review without talking about Crowe and Washington?
Washington is Frank Lucas. He is brooding, cold-blooded, calculative and intelligent. He is exemplary. He has translated Lucas in to an icon. Frank Lucas has just been transformed as a pop-culture icon. While, Crowe is screwed up, intelligent and also very focused in his essay of Richie Roberts. This is yet another demonstration of his calculative talent. He is a class-apart.
Do yourself a favor! Watch American Gangster. It's the new American Crime Classic.
