Reviews by:
@ryan_the_nixon
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2021
15
director: Alan Taylor
starring: Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr, Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Ray Liotta, Michela De Rossi, Michael Gandolfini, Vera Farmega
Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark's history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters begin to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family's hold over the increasingly race-torn city. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti, who struggles to manage both his professional and personal responsibilities and whose influence over his nephew will help make the impressionable teenager into the all-powerful mob boss we'll later come to know Tony Soprano. This for me was a massive disappointment.
My first few positives would be the cinematography and set pieces. As well as the chemistry between the cast, background into gang culture and the performances. This film was visually creative and really played around with contrasting almost peaceful and normal settings and then with the characters dying and the use of colour really adding a sharp contrast. There were some creative long and mid shots used very effectively within certain scenes as well. I also did like the set locations as well; they really bought the 60’s and 70’s aesthetic to life and it was charming and fascinating to see the culture and how everything looked in the past. I also liked the background into how different gang cultures worked and how the people interacted with each other. It was all about sustaining power and it was very private, and the film went into a good amount of detail into how gangsters and conflicting gangs interacted with each other at the time. I also thought the performances were strong from the whole cast. Alessandro Nivola, Vera Farmega and Michela Rossi. Who all delivered charming yet powerful and complex performances that really bought their characters to life. It also helped that the whole cast had fantastic chemistry and their relationships felt authentic and were fun to watch as the family dynamics were explored.
My first few negatives would be the annoying voiceover, inconsistent pacing. As well as a lack of main character and lack of emotional connection, and unneeded conflict. For me the voiceover used was very annoying and unnecessary. It rushed over important information or was spoon feeding the audience information that could have been told in the present. I also thought the pacing was inconsistent and all over the place. There were parts that felt random and completely rushed over, and then a large chunk of the film completely dragged. I found myself losing interest on many occasions and the film struggled to win it back. For me as well there was an unclear main character. Yes, it was Dicky, but my point is the cast was way too big and the film would constantly jump between all these different characters it became difficult and just boring to keep up with it all. And considering its a film about Tony soprano he was hardly even in the film. I also felt a lot of the conflict felt unneeded and felt added for the sake of it. There was a lack of context and randomness to a lot of the arguments between the characters, it became tiring to keep up with and the lack of attention with the writing was on full display. I also had a complete emotional disconnect. I wasn’t sure if the film was supposed to make you feel bad for the characters, but they achieved the complete opposite. The character deaths were sudden and executed in a strange and anticlimactic way that really didn’t connect with me emotionally to the characters.
My final few positives would be the dark and mysterious tone. Some good action, a solid script, and finally some decent character development. I liked how dark and shocking the film was. Especially with how it explored racial conflict at the time, there was a lot of scenes that were tough to watch and the film wasn’t afraid to hold back, I also liked it had a classic gangster mysterious tone, it really hammed up all the accents and bought a lot of the genre tropes and made them fairly refreshing and they still worked. I also thought the action was good, it was hard hitting and shocking. And really provided a lot of impact to the scenes keeping the film entertaining. I also thought the script and the character development was solid. I think they crafted a good character study of Dicky and how he wanted to become a better man, but the pressures of his job and his family history got the better of him. As his influence on others became greater so did the tension between the gangs so his character was a bright spot for the film.
My final few negatives would be the lack of depth to the themes, how predictable the film was and the unsatisfying ending. The film for me played it safe with its deeper themes. The themes on domestic abuse and racism for me felt more used for shock factor and should have had more of an integral purpose and depth. I also thought the film was predictable in a lot of places. The film made it obvious that some of the twists were going to happen therefore it took any form of surprise that the film was going for away, it made the film feel underwhelming and lacklustre. Finally, I thought the film ended in a very unsatisfactory way. It was very abrupt, and it killed off characters it didn’t need to. Tony Soprano never really felt needed and therefore it the message the film was trying to convey fell flat.
Overall, the many saints of Newark has a strong cast, plenty of style and a strong script. But if falls flat due to how messy and unfocused it was. Lacking the depth that was needed. The whole premise of the film was who made Tony Soprano? and in my opinion the film didn’t answer that question.
Overall score 57/100
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