My colleague bought me a DVD of "American Gangster" for my birthday, which makes me really quite delighted. I guess with all the moaning I did about missing it when it was in the cinemas, he got the hint.
Anyway, I made good use of my evening yesterday and watched it. And it was worth all 175 minutes (this was the uncut edition and well deserving of its M18 rating).
Denzel is the comsummate gangster, with his look of barely controlled rage and "I am so pissed off you are even alive" look. Of course that man is so yummy, I could just eat him with a spoon, but he is also an amazing actor. I studied it carefully and I realised what it is - it's the way he walks. Denzel's walk, part swagger, part strut and all testosterone, is what makes him so perfect for this role. It is confidence, laced with gangsta. How to lose?
Ok, before this turns into a Denzel droolfest, let's get into the movie, shall we?
American gangster is a true story about Frank Lucas, the first black man to monopolise and dominate the drug scene in America. On his trail is Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe, a reluctant loser cop whose unpopularity to the rest of the NJPD has him heading a narcotics task force which operates outside the system to get all the baddies.
Ok, sypnopsis aside, this movie has many other themes which you will remember from other gangster movies - family, loyalty, love and of course chicks and cold blooded killings.
But what really got me about this movie was the motivation behind Lucas' actions.
Having come from a violent childhood, the oldest of 6 children, being poor, being a urban refugee, he embodies the American Dream. Finding capitalism a better option to patriotism, he milks the system, collects on his favours and doesn't take crap.
In any other industry, he would be the Times Man of the Year.
But crime doesn't pay, kiddos, and this point is stressed even though only 2 people in the movie actually beleive this. And that includes all the boys in blue who serve and protect.
If gangster movies are not your thing, give this one a wide berth. But if you can handle a little blood, violence and crime, and think Denzel is da bomb, then you have to see this.
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