Hello this is jake winters for eye on the triangle this is snowverated and this week I am going to be taking a look at the film Gangs of New York.

Gangs of new York is film that it seems like something like about half of people in general have heard of. It is like sort of known because it has Leonardo Dicrapio and Daniel day lewis in it but sort of not known because of how weird it is. Anyway the film should definitely at least be a little more recognisred as it has its merits.

The best thing about this film is its use of setting. The film being called gangs of new York immediately makes me think 1900s and immigrants. It seems like most organized crime in the us has been shaped around immigrants so this is where my thoughts go. Something like Godfather. But instead the story is in 1846 new York city and is drastically different from anything the title would suggest at first sight. The gangs fight with swords and clubs and while some of the gangs are immigrants they aren’t the only ones in town who know how to fight. The main fighting is between immigrants and “natives” as they call themselves. Really just the people who were born there which is a fine line between a native and an immigrant as the country was still very young. Less than 100 years old in that setting.

But beyond the setting being odd the movie is also just surreal. Everything is just odd and out of place. It has a sort of bioshock feel if you know the game I am talking about. If not it is sort of like if the world had just taken a slightly different more insane path at a random point in somewhat recent history. The thing about gangs of new York though is that it very closely mirrors reality. Almost to the point where it made me wonder if they were really just trying to paint an overly vivid image of what it would have been like to live in the city during that time.

The civil war was just starting and so was the first draft all of which is true. There are also huge racial tensions as well as tension created by new immigrants and well the new draft those new immigrants were forced to fight under. Take all this tension add a splash of new York gang violence and there you have gangs of new York. An interesting idea to say the least.

The sets and character design were another very interesting aspect of the film, showing how much effort they put into the style over the story. They did a good job exaggerating the style of the time and showed gangs well even within the style they limited themselves to. The sets were bizarre and the camera definitely takes advantage of this. Giving us shots of bars in cellars with roots coming out of walls. Definitely possible but strange and out of place to say the least. The time setting and place setting work together masterfully to give you a sense of having absolutely no idea where you are even though 1846 new York seems like something everyone has learned at least a little about.

That is most of what I have to say that is good about the film though, not to say that isn’t a huge chunk of things in its favor. A lot of movies don’t even have a solid or interesting groundwork and have to build on it with acting and visuals. This movie is quite the opposite. Because of how good their basis was it seems like they didn’t put as much effort into dialogue or acting. One main thing here is that Daniel Day Lewis is the only one I think actually got his part right. The others while not being terrible played what seem like stereotypical roles in a very nonstereotypical world. So unfortunately they just don’t fit. The dialogue is awkward at times feeling forced for laughs at points and melodramatic at others but some may argue this was only to fit the setting they were in. If this were the case they would have needed to make it aparant this is what they were going for because while they have their melodramatic clichéd and awkward moments there are serious threatening and gruesome moments as well. Its definitely possible to mesh the two together but it needs to be done with finesse something this movie lacked something of.

Overall an enjoyable movie. Worth watching and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind a bit of excess violence and some nudity. It had good design overall but lacked performance in what are usually major areas but made up for it in good plot choices near the end. It has the possibility of being offensive but other than that a decent film to say the least. They shot for something different and landed firmly on the mark.

Thankyou for listening to this weeks edition of eye on the triangle and snowverated I am jake winters I hope you have a good evening.