Crime/Drama/Romance
1 hour and 52 minutes
Rated: R
Written by: Martin Scorsese & Mardik Martin
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Produced by: E. Lee Perry & Jonathan T. Taplin
Cast:
Robert De Niro
Harvey Keitel
David Proval
Amy Robinson
Richard Romanus
Cesare Danova
You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets...
Mean Streets was a Scorsese film that over the years had gotten away from me. I had seen it at some point in either high school or middle school and didn't remember it making an impression on me the way other Scorsese films like Casino, Goodfellas, and The Departed had. I even recall being slightly disappointed by this given my admiration for not only Scorsese but for Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel (who in my opinion is still one of the most criminally underrated actors of all time), and even David Carradine who has an interesting cameo within the film. All this being said, I'm incredibly glad that years later I've revisited Mean Streets.
It is by no means a perfect movie - and it is far from being Martin Scorsese's greatest achievement (I'll save that title for Taxi Driver). The storyline at times seems to almost lose its way down various digressions that perhaps a more fitting title would have been Meandering Streets. Some of the supporting performances are far from believable - Amy Robinson hardly keeps up with the raw talent of her obviously gifted co-stars. And the film's conclusion, if one could call it that, is hardly that at all. It leaves the viewer with the knowledge that whatever were to happen next in this story would absolutely be the most interesting part of this tale. Despite all of these set backs, Mean Streets is not the worst thing Martin Scorsese has graced audiences with (the Cape Fear remake comes to mind ...).
Unquestionably, it is the performances within Mean Streets that make it a fascinating film to watch. Understandably, most discuss Robert De Niro's performance within the film. He is bombastic, a wild card, and a hopeless case that the audience can't help but liking despite a knowledge of his destiny being solidified from the very first moment we're introduced to him. While De Niro showcases his immense talent, it is Harvey Keitel who delivers the most intriguing performance of the film. Keitel's character Charlie immediately has the audience's sympathy. He is in many ways, just as hopeless a case as De Niro's Bobby Boy - but Charlie is a much more tragic figure. His inability to release Johnny Boy from his friendship and ultimately his protective tongue, and his relationship with Amy Robinson's character Teresa - a forbidden romance - immediately plagues the audience with sorrow for this helpless case. Keitel handles this type of character with such an incredible talent, he would later go on to perfect this tragic hero figure in the film Bad Lieutenant.
As stated before, Mean Streets' storyline does suffer from it's wandering a bit, but the moments where it remains incredibly sharp and focused are truly outstanding. If anything, the film served as a learning experience for Scorsese to later perfect the tragic story of a New York outcast in Taxi Driver. It's fascinating to see how this auteur cut his teeth and shaped his style within the film. Moments where the camera glides through red-lighted bars past wiseguy conversations instantly brings to mind the cinematography of Goodfellas. The scene with David Carradine - one where the gore is downplayed (probably due to the film's low budget) but the violence is still quite heavy - brings to mind some of the most shockingly violent moments of Scorsese's film career (I instantly thought of Joe Pesci's final moments in Casino). It shows that at even a very early stage in his career, Scorsese had an excellent handle on violence within story and how it affects both the viewers and the overall narrative.
There isn't much to say about Mean Streets. It is an intriguing film to watch and to pick apart. One can easily find the moments that are pure Scorsese, but one can also see moments where the director strayed, failing and learning from the experience as evidenced in later films. It remains a film that is better than most directorial debuts simply due to the performances of its two leads and of its supporting cast. It is far from Scorsese's best and even farther from being his worst.
7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment