Script Review of Gangs of New York

Gangs of New York

"WHAT'S IT ABOUT?"
'Gangs of New York' is undoubtedly, although uncredited, based on the book with the same title by author Herbert Asbury in 1928. The setting for the movie is the middle 1800's with immigrants groups fighting for control of the city of New York.

In a predictible turn of events at the beginning of the movie, the leader of one of the gangs is murdered in cold blood and his son witnesses the entire incident. From that day forward the boy vows to avenge the death of his father and destroy the gang that now ruled the inner city.

We pick up the story then several years later and the boy has become a young man who has grown up and leads his new gang in the shadow of the memory of his father. Amsterdam brings back the power of the gang by recruiting and defending the citizens from the mob/gnag rule of New York, and eventually comes face to face with his father's murderer.

The script reviewed is a 1993 draft revised screenplay.

JOSH:

Attaching some high profile stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz probably won't hurt any project. Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese? You'd think this one was in the bag before it ever left the gate. It's also got some great money (to the tune of a rumored $100M) to back it up from Warner Brothers, and some great word of mouth from many who have read the script and Leo says he "won't do another film until GoNY" and Diaz is eagerly awaiting the love scenes. Wow. The principle shooting has been delayed from what should be behind the camera now until later this summer, possibly costing the production Willem Dafoe. Variety also reported several other actors may be up for the role, including Liam Neeson and Daniel Day-Lewis. It's also known that Robert De Niro dropped out of the project a while back, but there have been some recent rumors that he might be joining up again. So at this point no one's sure exactly what's definite. As far as the script goes, it's really got some strong points, including some great character development in several key roles including Amsterdam, Monk Eastman, Boss Tweed and Jenny, and some intense moments in the script that really move the big show along. Special attention is given to these main characters, and others weren't developed hardly at all -- they aren't much more than scenery. There's some extremely violent scenes as well, many of which are pivotal in the advancement of the storyline. The film succeeds on many levels, and fails in others as well. It's a great tale of romance and adventure, love lost, the bond between father and son, corruption and a harsh look at a society near collapse. It is a period of civil war within the city, and the script dives in admirably to those recesses of our past history. Just what was it like to live in a time like that? A time where people were fighting for their lives so desperately one moment, selling themselves for whatever could be given, an infrastructure of government and rule that had collapsed. Where love was purchased not felt, and loyalty was to a gang and not a country. But the biggest one that stands out in my mind is this: Will people care about this stuff?