American Gangster - 7.5

Ridley Scott's latest represents a return to form of sorts, his first really good film since Gladiator, in my opinion. While Blackhawk Down and Matchstick Men were both decent, The Kingdom and A Very Good Year were out and out flops, so it was nice to see such an accomplished filmmaker not disappoint this time around. American Gangster tells the story of Frank Lucas, a savvy 'businessman' who rises to the top of the New York City drug trade in the '70s. Denzel Washington gives an outstanding, Oscar-worthy performance as Lucas, while Russell Crowe is more than capable as his foil, the cop attempting to bring Lucas down. While the two do not interact at all until the last 20 minutes, it is their 'relationship' that is the driving force behind the movie. Scott and the screenwriters take care to not present the story in black and white, with charismatic good cops trying to be bring down the evil bad guys. In fact, they essentially do the reverse, emphasizing the good aspects of Lucas - he is a family man, extremely intelligent, humble, likable, and principled in his own way. On the other hand, Crowe is one of the few honest cops in the whole movie, but he also carries a holier than thou attitude, which is especially off-putting considering he is a womanizer who neglects his ex-wife and son. These well-developed characters, not to mention the outstanding actors portraying them, set up an intriguing dynamic in the film that confuses the viewer as to who they should be 'rooting' for. As such, Denzel's Lucas is one of the better anti-heroes I can remember. This movie also succeeds because of a flawless production that seems to authentically recreate its '70s NY setting (well at least for as far as I can tell). However, though it's quite a good movie, a few problems hold this film back from true greatness. For one, all that detail, layer upon layer, seems to take a little bit away from the main story. For example, Cuba Gooding's character, Nicky Barnes, seems to be haphazardly thrown into the story without a real purpose. Apparently, in real life, Barnes was one of Lucas' biggest rivals in the NY drug trade, but in the film, he seems to just be tossed in there - I actually had no idea he was a rival of Lucas after watching the movie, I thought he worked for him. The few scenes with Joe Louis feel the same way, like they were just put in there so Joe Louis would be in the movie. Partly because of this, the films other weakness, its pacing, suffers. The middle half of this movie was great, riveting stuff, but the exposition and the conclusion both dragged a bit. Even so, I'm really splitting hairs here. While American Gangster wasn't The Godfather or Goodfellas (what is?), like The Departed it's another great throwback gangster movie made by serious filmmakers and actors. Oscar Outlook Since Oscar season is now really heating up and pretty much every new movie I see for the next 4 or 5 months will be an awards contender, I'm going to starting giving my extremely speculative (and relatively uninformed) opinion on what the Oscar chances are for said film. I'll include predictions for nominations and wins that will no doubt make me look like an idiot a few months from now. American Gangster, with its strong opening weekend and warm reception looks like a very good bet for at least Best Picture and Best Actor nominations (for Denzel). If not for Daniel Day-Lewis' apparent powerhouse performance in There Will Be Blood, I would say Denzel was the current frontrunner in the Best Actor race. As it is, it looks like he (and everyone else) is going to be a big underdog against DDL. I will be shocked if this movie isn't nominated for Best Picture, but I'll also be pretty surprised if it wins. With The Departed winning last year, I'm guessing the Academy doesn't go with back to back gangster movies for the big prize. In my opinion, its best chance for a major award is Ridley Scott for director. He's never won an Oscar and could receive a lifetime achievement award of sorts this time around. It helps that he has several snubs that look really bad in hindsight on his resume, including not even getting a nomination for Alien or Blade Runner. It is rare for a director to win without his movie taking Best Picture but it would be fitting in this case since Steven Soderbergh won Best Director in 2000 when Ridley Scott's film Gladiator took Best Picture. One thing that I think will ultimately work against Scott in this area is that two of Scott's biggest competitors could be the Coen brothers (No Country for Old Men) and Sidney Lumet (Before the Devil Knows Your Dead). These, of course, are also revered directors who have also never won Best Director so those voters looking to give out a lifetime achievement award could end up splitting their vote. Ruby Dee is also getting hyped for a Best Supporting Actress nomination but she had such a minor role, I'm guessing she ends up getting left out. Russell Crowe could conceivably end up with a supporting nod also (though he could be considered a lead) but I'm guessing he won't. A screenplay nomination is likely (I think it'll be up for adapted though I'm not positive). Predictions Best Picture nomination Best Actor nomination for Denzel Best Director nomination for Scott (though I think he has a good chance, I don't think he'll win) Best Adapted Screenplay nomination