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Ervell E. Menezes finds American Gangster an intelligent entertainer
THE American gangster has been around even before the notorious Al Capone in the streets of Chicago and he has been raising his ugly head now and then. Quite often it is by pedalling contraband with the connivance of the corrupt cops. Ridley Scott’s American Gangster is set in the streets of New York at the height of the Vietnam War (1967-73) when thousands of kilos of smack were sold to addicts hungry for the product introduced to them by the soldiers in Vietnam. What’s more, it was a black, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) who ran the show with his family and relatives. Pitted against Lucas is hard-nosed, streetwise cop Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) who realises that there is a black who’s making waves in the mafia and he’s out to get him. Shades of The Godfather which showed the ruthlessness of the mafia and its otherwise human inner core, American Gangster delves deep into the psyche of this black gang which eventually tried to bite more than it could chew. Blue Magic is the name of the smack brought in from the fields of Vietnam, the stuff twice as good as normal smack but half as costly and this is what made it such a desired product. A quiet apprentice to Bumpy Johnson, Lucas takes over when his mentor is suddenly killed and he learns to keep a low profile. "That’s a costume which says ‘arrest me,’" he tells one of his subordinates as his network spreads far and wide. But Roberts, whose family life is in a shambles, keeps a tag on Lucas’ movements and goes through great lengths to finally nab him. It is 160 minutes of taut drama, aided by a dialogue-heavy screenplay by Steven Zillian. Reminiscent of Donny Brasco and Godfather II, this film is cerebral but it indulges in cold-blooded violence, almost glorifying it and that is surely a minus point. And it is the plethora of cameos that take the film criss-crossing a vast canvas. There’s Ruby Dee as Lucas’ tough mother and Cuba Gooding Jr and John Oritz as his henchmen, Armand Assante as one of the bigwigs of the underworld and a whole lot of lesser folks who lend authenticity to the crime scene. The most novel footage is the Asian footage where the cocaine or smack is grown and later shipped to the United States. May be it takes a bit of time establishing its credentials and there are moments it tends to drift but it gathers momentum in the last quarter and the climax is as stunning as it is revealing. Being based on a historical character it is even more enlightening. Both Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington really get beneath the skin of their roles and they are supported by some excellent cameos, especially by Ruby Dee, Armand Assante and Cuba Gooding Jr to round up a thought-provoking entertainer. If only it could have curbed its penchant for violence. You don’t have to resort to blood and gore all in the name of realism?
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