The Many Saints of Newark

When it comes to the genre of drama, mob or mafia type films are prolific and popular and have been around for decades. As with "The Many Saints of Newark", this is the beginnings of the HBO long running program, "The Sopranos". Believe it or not, I never viewed any episodes of the TV show, even though I had heard how well done it was, so in seeing this film, a good deal of characters were foreign to me. 

Young Anthony Soprano (Michael Gandolfini) 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 holdover the increasingly race-torn city. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), who struggles to manage both his professional, including Johnny Soprano (Jon Bernthal), Harold McBrayer (Leslie Odom Jr, Junior Soprano (Corey Stoll) and others, and personal responsibilities--and whose influence over his irresponsible nephew will help make the teenager into the all-powerful mob boss we'll later come to know: Tony Soprano. 

Others to round out the cast are Vera Farmiga as Livia Soprano, Johnny's wife, Ray Liotta as Hollywood 'Dick' Moltisanti, Dickie's father, Michela De Rossi as Giuseffina Moltisanti, Billy Magnussen as Paulie Walnuts, John Magaro as Silvio Dante, Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti, Samson Moeakiola as Pussy Bonpensiero, Joey Diaz as Buddha and Germar Terrell Gardner as Cyril.

This was directed with intensity showing an abundance of realism by Alan Taylor (Palookaville" '95, "Kill the Poor" '03, "The Wonderful Maladys" (TV movie) '10, "Thor: The Dark World" '13, "Terminator Genisys" '15) plus TV and a short. Even though a fair amount of this filmmaker's experience lies in the action-packed genre, he certainly has proven he can develop the perfect staging and pacing of an intense drama. Watching these characters were like looking into different people's windows and seeing them as real people as opposed to actors on a set, and this is talented directing. It was effectively written by David Chase ("Grave of the Vampire" '72, "Off the Minnesota Strip" (TV movie) '80, "Palms Precinct" (TV movie) '82, "Moonlight" (TV movie) '82, "Not Fade Away" '12) plus TV and other TV movies, and Lawrence Konner ("The Legend of Billie Jean" '85, "The Jewel of the Nile" '85, "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" '87, "The In Crowd" '88, "Desperate Hours" '90, "For Love or Money" '93, "Planet of the Apes" '01, "Flicka" '06) plus other films and TV, based on characters created by David Chase. Certainly Konner has the lion's share of the experience here, however, Chase needed to be part of the writing team since he created Sopranos. After viewing this, it did take some time for the story to take hold, but when it did, the storyline moved along with much more clarity. There were places where the scenes weren't connecting, again, closer to the beginning. It was narrated by the future nephew of Tony Soprano, and it certainly did assist in keeping continuity, but, as mentioned prior, the story still had some issues. The best thing about this was the acting and the directing, and certainly using James Gandolfini's son Michael kept that realism intact. 

Never seeing one episode of "The Sopranos", I have to say that if you're a fan of the show, you'll love this. Perhaps if I had seen a few episodes of the show, I might've seen this film in a different light--not sure, but, suffice it to say, even with not ever seeing the show, this was still a film worthy of seeing, if for no other reason, than for the acting and directing. 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                                Rated: R                                                 120mins.