American Gangster: The Best And The Brightest (Spoilers!!!)

“And why? Because -- I believe this drug business -- is gonna destroy us in the years to come. I mean, it’s not like gambling or liquor -- even women – which is something that most people want nowadays, and is ah forbidden to them by the pezzonovante of the Church. Even the police departments that’ve helped us in the past with gambling and other things are gonna refuse to help us when it comes narcotics. And I believed that then and I believe that now.”
-- Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather

“See, ya are what ya are in this world. That's either one of two things: Either you're somebody, or you ain't nobody.”
-- Frank Lucas from American Gangster

The opening scenes of Ridley Scott’s epic, American Gangster are incredibly powerful. Bumpy Johnson’s (Clarence Williams III) old time gangster ethos is perfectly captured as he is talking with his driver, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) about the loss of dignity and self respect with the younger generation of criminals. Bumpy was the king of everything above 125th Street by the 1960’s. He was the godfather of Harlem. Laurence Fishburne played the younger Bumpy in Bill Duke’s underrated Hoodlum. In the span of a few minutes, the power of Williams’ Bumpy is provocative and far reaching. The performance haunts the remainder of the film in a very good way. Bumpy is the film’s Vito as Frank is the film’s Michael Corleone. Bumpy is his surrogate father. He learned everything from him. When Bumpy dies of a heart attack, we can see the ambition in Frank’s eyes. When it is his turn at the helm of the Harlem crime syndicate in the late 1960’s, we know he listened very well. And like Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone, he took it upon himself to do things his own way. While there are similarities to one of the greatest stories every told, American Gangster owes it success to many things. It is based on the true story of the Harlem gangster, Frank Lucas. Steve Zaillian’s overly ambitious screenplay was originally two screenplays. He wrote one version from Frank Lucas’s point of view and another on Russell Crowe’s Richie Roberts’ point of view. The merging of these two personas brings us one of the finest crime stories in some time. Ridley Scott’s film has a little bit of everything. I see shades of Heat, Scarface (1983), The French Connection, Serpico, New Jack City, Goodfellas, The Prince Of The City, The Godfather films, Year Of The Dragon, Black Caesar, American Me and many of the great classic gangster films. The gangster genre is very much alive in the post-Sopranos era.

As Frank Lucas, Denzel Washington delivers a stunning performance of charming ruthlessness and cunning intellect. Denzel Washington is rarely boring. It is not in his nature; his charisma lends itself to every role he has taken over the years. His Oscar winning turn as the corrupt cop in Training Day was proof that he could play against type. His Alonzo Harris was one of the best arguments against typecasting since Henry Fonda’s Frank in Once Upon A Time In The West. Frank Lucas has some of Alonzo’s mean streak in him, but Washington goes further back, not just to Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone. I see in his Frank Lucas, Paul Muni’s Tony Camonte from Scarface, Edward G. Robinson’s Caesar Enrico 'Rico' Bandello from Little Caesar and James Cagney’s Tom Powers from The Public Enemy. Frank Lucas is first and foremost a businessman. He has a plan to respect the legacy of his late boss, and to also make a name for himself. Frank’s plan is genius. He has a cousin who is a well connected career military officer in Southeast Asia. Frank’s plan allows him to smuggle in pure Chinese heroin. His product is so pure, repeat business is going to be a problem down the road. The film takes place during the Vietnam War. Scott’s decision to let television news coverage of the war show the passage of time is an excellent touch. The parallels to the current war are not lost. Frank Lucas is the personification of the American Dream. He is self made. This is where he differs from Michael Corleone. Michael, like his father, never got the family into the drug business, but Frank does take this route. The Corleones remain fantasy-- the mafia did get into the drug trade. Frank rose from nothing-- coming from North Carolina to eventually become Bumpy’s driver. Frank takes what he wants by force. While Michael inherited the family business. Neither believes in flash or bling. He wears classic expensive suits-- very clean cut. He lectures one of his brothers, Huey, the always wonderful Chiwetel Ejiofar, on the need to dress down. Never call attention to yourself. He should dress in a traditional way, not in a loud way. He should not look like a pimp or a clown. Leave that to Cuba Gooding’s Nicky Barnes, one of Frank’s rivals. Nicky Barnes was the John Gotti and Bugsy Siegel of his day-- a publicity seeking criminal who could not get enough of the press. Cuba Gooding Jr. is very good as Nicky Barnes, but the part is very small. We see enough of Barnes to provide a terrific contrast in regards to Frank. Frank’s greatest contribution is cutting out the middle men from the action. His greatest coup is taking control of the game from the Italian mafia in New York City. Armand Assante’s Dominic Cattano eventually takes his orders from him.

Russell Crowe is the other half of the acting equation. His Richie Roberts is equal to Gene Hackman’s Popeye Doyle in The French Connection and Al Pacino’s Vincent Hanna from Heat. It is hard to believe that Russell Crowe has become so likable in his characters over the year. He was so evil as Hando, the skinhead, in Romper Stomper; it is hard to believe that he evolved into playing one of the good guys. The Insider, Gladiator and Master and Commander: The Far Side Of World gave us insights into the actor. It seems he was always playing against type after that role. He was played the bad guy in this year’s 3:10 To Yuma. He and Christian Bale held their own against each other. Both actors are so skillful; they could have switched parts with the same results.

If Washington has the glamour role, than surely Crowe has the unflattering role for the first half of the film. He is the only honest cop in Newark. His honesty is his greatest asset and at times his greatest weakness. In the beginning of the film, he seals his own fate. He turns in over a million dollars recovered from a mob Cadillac. This is a big mistake on his part. No other police officer will ever work with him. The shades of Lumet’s Serpico are clearly in place for Richie’s part of the story. Honesty is a disease for the police in this film. Richie knows all about isolation. His marriage is in shambles. His wife, Laurie is seeking a divorce and custody of their son. Richie has his own world of troubles, but he is an honest cop. He is not on the take. His honesty pays off when he finally gets a shot with the Drug Enforcement Agency. He is put in charge of a task force. Richie begins to put together the pieces. It is not the Italian Mafia calling the shots anymore. There is a new player in town. Before he can take on the Harlem heroin drug lord, one huge obstacle stands in his way-- he New City Police Department.

A group of New York City Police Officers led by Josh Brolin’s Detective Trupo are a thorn in the sides of both Frank and Richie. They share a common enemy. Brolin’s Trupo delivers a slow burning menace throughout the whole film. Trupo wants his cut from Frank Lucas. He wants his share; he does not care about the drugs and the lives that will be lost to the violence and pure heroin known as Blue Magic. It is not in his interest or to the other police officers to care about what happens to the citizens of Harlem. Trupo is pure evil-- one of the best corrupt cop performances since Sterling Hayden’s Captain McCluskey in The Godfather. Brolin gives equal time to Frank and Richie. He warns Richie never to enter New York City unless he notifies him first. He harasses Frank on his Wedding Day for his cut.

The highlight of the film is when Denzel Washington and Rusell Crowe appear onscreen together toward the end of the film. The last twenty minutes are dynamic. Like the famous diner sequence in Heat between Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, we are watching to excellent actors at the top of their game. We have been waiting the whole film for this moment and it does not disappoint. The genius of Scott’s film is that we enjoy the ride up to this point. At 157 minutes long, we are never bored. There is so much to look at through Harris Savides’ camera; we do not have a moment to take stock of everything in one viewing. Ridley Scott set so many standards early on in his career. His first three films; The Duellists, Alien and Blade Runner set the bar very high-- so high it seemed that he might not be able to compete with himself after Blade Runner. He created a mood with that landmark film that everyone has since copied. Alien and Blade Runner provided Scott’s vision of the future-- wet, crowded and perversely beautiful. Black Rain proved he was good enough for the gangster genre. American Gangster assures us that he is one of the masters of the genre. Gladiator was a successful throwback to grand epics that Hollywood used to make. He has stumbled from time to time-- Hannibal and 1492: The Conquest Of Paradise are messes. I have soft spot in my heart for White Squall and Matchstick Men. Legend and Kingdom Of Heaven benefited from Director’s cut DVD’s. Black Hawk Down and Thelma and Louise hold up very well. His commercial work only heightened his unique attention to detail. Like Peter Weir, his films are events. A Ridley Scott film still means something. 25 years later, we are still talking about Blade Runner’s newest and final cut.

We must be doing something right. We get the gangster film we deserve. We were lucky to have Martin Scorsese’s The Departed last year. With American Gangster, Ridley Scott and Steve Zaillian have delivered a fine gangster epic. I hope that it stands the test of time like the other films I have mentioned. I have a gut feeling it will last through the years like those other fine films. Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts parallel stories offer so much. Yet I must return to Michael Corleone to make one final observation about Frank Lucas. I have watched the Godfather films so many times over the decades. I go over scenes and analyze them. I find something new each time I watch any of the films. Michael’s coldness and brutality in the second film represented the arrival of America’s isolation after the Vietnam War. His isolation had even shut him out of his own family which he was trying to protect the whole time. He was bloodied and alone by the end of the second film. Frank is alone at the end too. His coldness and tactics seem to pre date the ruthlessness of big business, the rise of the CEO’s and the Eighties greed. He had the traits of an investment banker on Wall Street. While watching American Gangster, I could not help but think the same about Frank Lucas. He would have been the perfect investment banker-- maybe even better than Michael Corleone.