Not your usual gangster film

Ridley Scott’s American Gangster is undoubtedly a great film, but, after two and a half hours of viewing, it left me a little dissatisfied. Not because of the length of the film (which is justified), but because it lacked the intensity I had expected from an epic gangster film of its genre – which includes films such as Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Godfather’ series, Brian De Palma’s ‘Scarface’ and ‘The Untouchables’, and Martin Scorsese’s ‘Mean Streets’ and ‘Goodfellas’.

The lack of intensity, and gangster meanness, in American Gangster is in the portrayal of rivalry between the two lead characters: Frank Lucas, a druglord in Harlem (New York) selling heroin in the early seventies, played by Denzel Washington; and Richie Roberts, an honest but philandering New Jersey cop pursuing the underworld of drugs, played by Russell Crowe.

The film is based on a true story. Frank Lucas as a Harlem druglord did exist (apparently he made a million dollars a day from selling heroin on 116th Street in New York in the seventies), is alive today (in a wheelchair), and was consulted for the film. However, I’ve read in the media that, writer Steven Zaillian and director Ridley Scott have taken a lot of creative liberties with the film.

The acting by the two lead characters is fabulous; although I must say that Denzel Washington outshines Russell Crowe by a mile. The film, after all, is about Frank Lucas – his rise from a driver/bodyguard/collector for an earlier druglord to becoming a kingpin in New York’s seventies drug business. And Washington, in Lucas’ role, is superb. If anything, the film is worth watching because of Denzel Washington’s acting.

I was curious to note that, in the film, Lucas, in spite of his heinous crime of selling heroin, considered himself a progressive Black businessman. He contributed to his family’s and Harlem’s welfare. He talked about principles of business such as markets, product sourcing, product quality (purity), branding, pricing, value proposition and distribution. I was impressed.

Where American Gangster falls short is in portraying the relationship between the two rivals: Lucas and Roberts. Both characters are likeable – strong on ethics, outcasts in their fields – in spite of their negatives (Lucas as a druglord and gangster; Roberts as an honest cop and philanderer). They live separate lives, unknown to each other. Not until the very end of the film is there any rivalry, or relationship, between the two men.

Roberts considers Lucas a suspect much later in the film – first on a hunch, and then confirmed almost accidentally by one of Robert’s (mysterious) friends. Lucas doesn’t know Roberts is after him, doesn’t believe he’ll be caught (a touch of invincibility – his folly), and continues to live his life, expanding his business (Lucas had ensured that the heroin cannot be traced back to him).

Even when Lucas is caught, an understated event after a shootout, the face-off between the two men is civilised and gentlemanly – as if they are in admiration of each other. A touch of Steven Spielberg’s ‘Catch Me If You Can’ is what I felt, washed off all the intensities expected from the usual gangster film.