Soooo… I got my hands on a screener DVD of American Gangster last week and watched it with the Mrs. this weekend. I’m not going to spoil too much because I know that you’ll all be at the theatre this weekend watching it when it comes out. So I’m going to give you a few initial impressions of the overall experience.
1. Jay-Z’s American Gangster album is NOT a soundtrack. It’s an album inspired by the film. There is no Jay-Z in this film. In fact, there is next to no hip-hop at all on the actual score. The only rap you’ll hear is a Public Enemy track over the ending credits. So if you want to hear Jay-Z’s music, either buy it or download it from AJ’s post.
The film is set in the late 60s into the 70s, so expect a lot of funk and music of that era. Imagine the kind of music that gets Steve Harvey dancing.
2. This is a star studded movie film. It seems at times that everyone in this film is a star and there are cameo appearances galore. There’s Common, T.I., Anthony Hamilton, the RZA (yeah chumps and chumpettes, the RZA) and Cuba Gooding, Jr., to name a few… just be prepared. And don’t be that person in the theatre shouting, “ain’t that the dude from so-and-so right there?” or “oh shit, it’s the RZA” for the whole film. Chances are that it is him and everyone else has already noticed it.
3. Don’t go expecting this to be the “Black Scarface”, cause it’s much more. This film shows Frank Lucas’ (Denzel Washington) rise to power, but it does so in a way that doesn’t glorify the selling of drugs (in this case heroin).
The director, Ridley Scott, does a fantastic job of showing both sides of the story and allowing the viewer to decide who is the hero and who is the villain in this film. Don’t be surprised if your opinion changes at different points in the story. But Scott also doesn’t leave it TOO open. The film doesn’t meander about. It’s all story, no filler. I was aware going into it that the final cut of the film is over 2 and a half hours long, but watching it didn’t feel that way.
4. The ending, which I won’t spoil, is a little open ended and will inspire much discussion. Just like the rest of the plot, which allows you (the viewer) to make decisions about how you feel; the ending is also very devoid of any overpowering moral. I think the director was trying to get the viewer thinking. My girlfriend couldn’t stop talking about the movie all weekend and we kept going back and discussing different parts of the film in order to try to better appreciate the ending.
5. The open ended nature of this film, while a tremendous strength is also a potential weakness. People who like to be told what the point of a film is will be disappointed by the requirement that they think after the film is over. It’s kinda like getting a homework assignment. But I feel that a film should make you think and that the discussions I had, long after the ending credits, added replay value to this film. I wanted to watch it again to see if my perception of the events was any different of subsequent viewings. That is my definition of a great film.
Additionally, by strategically ignoring certain aspects of the film, American Gangster can be perceived as the “Black Scarface” which I think would be doing the film makers a huge disservice. Not that I think Scarface is a bad movie, but I think that American Gangster is a better film that deserves to stand on its own.
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