Will the boy be trained?
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Written by: David Chase, (based on characters created by) Lawrence Konner
Cast: Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Vera Farmiga, Michael Gandolfini, Jon Bernthal, Michela De Rossi
Swift shot: It’s not a movie; it’s HBO. With The Many Saints of Newark, you’re actually getting an extended Sopranos episode, in format, feel, and function. Set against the Newark riots of 1967, we see how a young Tony Soprano begins to idolize his Uncle Dickie Moltisanti. Anyone can appreciate this movie, even if you’ve never watched a single Sopranos episode. But much like the family it portrays, it isn’t without some flaws.
A rapid fire sequence of scenes sets up who each of these characters are. There’s almost no time to appreciate anything, but it does get better as the film moves along. I must admit, it’s been fourteen years since I have watched The Sopranos, so I am assuming the show was delivered in the same deliberate fragmented staccato style of storytelling.
While the movie has been billed as “The Making of Tony Soprano” this is actually a story about two sides of the same numbers game in Newark. Two friends each wanting more. One side is the flamboyant, devil may care Italian mafioso. And the other is the up-and-coming Black gangsters vying for the same turf. Ultimately, the numbers customers are black folks, not Italians, so you can see where this is going.
What was somewhat lost on me was the dynamic between the two “heroes” of the movie. They were really good friends, but that didn’t come across on screen to me, save for one scene that would have been inexplicable otherwise. I felt they could have used more time establishing that friendship, since they spent a lot of time in the movie tearing it down.
Ultimately this is a story about Dickie “Many Saints” Moltisanti (Nivola) and how he navigates life, family, and crime while trying to determine what kind of person he is at heart.
As Dickie’s colleague and friend Harold (Odom jr.) struggles with his own place in the game of power and influence. New Jersey is an ever-changing racial landscape, and he’s tired of being the token black buddy of Dickie.
Dickie’s infamous father, Hollywood Dick Moltisanti (Liotta) comes back from Italy with a new trophy wife fresh from the slums of Naples. Giuseppina (De Rossi) is smitten with America and wants her own piece of the dream. But tensions build up as Dickie Junior sees the same old patterns of how his father treats his new bride. And it isn’t much of a spoiler to tell you things get pretty much Pornhub as Dickie has the hots for his new smoking hot step-mom.
Michael Gandolfini had enormous pressure on him to become his father’s most memorable character. And he had the ego and integrity to realize that while this is a Tony Soprano story, this was most definitely not the Tony Soprano movie. God-willing, we may yet get that in a sequel, because there is a lot more story to tell between 1971 and 2001.
I loved seeing my old favorites from the series back when they were younger. I think the casting was perfect, especially Corey Stoll as Junior. If he had any prosthetics, they were lost on me. And he’s every bit the Junior you love to hate from the show, and then some.
I didn’t even recognize Vera Farmiga at first. To me, she was just Livia Soprano. I instantly knew who she was without anyone giving a short-shrift exposition calling her out. Yea, I am looking at you, Big Pussy.
Because I know what to expect with this family, not much shocked me in this film, apart from two scenes.
I did appreciate one scene where a teenaged Tony is watching a famous scene from Key Largo. Since I have never watched that movie, I decided to give it a watch this week. I always loved watching what shows and movies influenced Tony on The Sopranos, so it was a neat little callback to that here.
Plus, there’s something poetic about an iconic gangster-to-be watching arguably the biggest gangster actor of his time in Edward G. Robison. See?
Nice touch, David Chase!
Also, fans of The Sopranos know that Bacall once made a cameo in an episode playing herself. Which, quite frankly is my least favorite episode, because it shows the true nature of these criminals. If you have ever had the misfortune of running into them in real life, you know what I mean. They aren’t some kind of fucking Robin Hoods, just fucking robbing hoods!
[Swift aside: It is weird how we idolize the bad guys. From pirates to Vikings and mobsters and gangsters, what the hell is it that draws us to them? In a word, it’s freedom. They aren’t worried about the petty laws of lesser men, they make their own laws and abide by them. And if they break a few of their own laws, they only have to answer to themselves.]
Dickie tries to be a better man after the sins of his father are put to rest. But in the end he can’t control his rage, the infamous Moltisanti malevolence that is always on the edge of the cup waiting to bubble over in blood will eventually froth into being.
In the end, the question becomes whether or not Tony will want to be part of “this thing” and whether or not he will even be allowed to be.
What’s great about The Many Saints of Newark is how it shifts some truths for at least one of the major Sopranos characters enough that it made me want to re-watch the entire series again with this new understanding.
What will irk a lot of people though, is much like The Sopranos, the end leaves much to the imagination. I really hope there’s a sequel in store for us, and I hope it doesn’t feature clones and political intrigue.
Oh, yea, I kept coming back to The Phantom Menace, God help me, with the comparisons to Anakin an iconic villain, starting out as a young kid being guided by a father-figure where his father was absent. And would he be carrying on the lineage of his special family? The struggle between the light and the dark side.
I can’t be the only one who sees this, please tell me it isn’t just the Star Wars nerd in me that I can never shut down.
So, if you are a fan of the show, you will love The Many Saints of Newark, but you’ll also be left wanting more. Yea, more, that’s what I wanted, more, see?
And even if you have never watched even one episode of the groundbreaking series, you will be entertained.
