[8]

Martin Scorsese unleashes this epic tale of 1860s New York City street battles, with Leonardo DiCaprio starring as a young man with a vendetta against the near legendary Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis). See, DiCaprio’s character saw Day-Lewis’s character kill his father in the big opening battle scene, and then DiCaprio’s character goes away for a while. Once he’s of age, he comes back and gets into the Butcher’s good graces before finding the right time to spring some good old fashioned betrayal and revenge. Scorsese and the screenwriters do a good job hanging the movie on the relationship between the two leading men. You know it starts out of revenge on DiCaprio’s part and naivete on Day-Lewis’s, but before that expectation climaxes, their relationship becomes surprisingly trusting and even familial. Cameron Diaz is along for the ride as a love interest who becomes the third point in a love triangle. The sets, wardrobe, and score succeed in transporting you to another time and place that is often so exotic, you doubt it was ever really of this earth. With Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, and Henry Thomas.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Day-Lewis), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Original Song (“Hands That Build America”)