Many Saints of Newark, The (United States, 2021)
October 04, 2021
If nothing else, The Many Saints of Newark recaptures
the feel and aesthetic of David Chase’s The Sopranos, the TV series that
was frequently cited as the best television had to offer during the eight years
when it was on (and off) the air. And perhaps that’s enough, at least for those
familiar with the 86 episodes (or at least most of them). As a chance to
revisit the world in which those characters lived and spend time exploring
their roots, The Many Saints of Newark is an unqualified success, even
bringing back the disembodied voice of Michael Imperioli (as the deceased
Christopher Moltisanti) to provide some narration. As a standalone film
divorced from The Sopranos, it’s less successful. The Many Saints of
Newark offers little more than a standard-order period-piece gangster story.
It’s no Goodfellas or Godfather and, for viewers without a Sopranos
connection, it may seem overlong and riddled with unnecessary secondary
characters and tertiary subplots.
When The Sopranos ended in 2007 with a snap-to-black
suddenness that divided the fan community, Chase made it known that he had no
plans to move Tony’s story forward. When star James Gandolfini unexpectedly died
in 2013, any lingering hopes for a reunion were quashed as thoroughly as a Beatles
resurrection were destroyed in December 1980. But that didn’t mean there weren’t
more stories to tell. As early as 2010, Chase was toying with the possibility
of a prequel. Eleven years later, we have it. With veteran Sopranos
director Alan Taylor at the helm and many of the same, familiar craft people in
place (including set designer Bob Shaw, who worked on two Scorsese films since leaving
Tony behind), it’s no surprise that the movie has a strong Sopranos flavor
to it.
The screenplay has tendency to meander as it seeks to serve
too many masters. On the one hand, Chase wants to fatten up established backstories
for many of the main Sopranos characters while introducing individuals
who had died by the time the series began in 1999. On the other hand, The
Many Saints of Newark seeks to be more than a piece of fan service by weaving
what most viewers will expect: a gangster yarn. There’s also the sense that
this is designed as a set-up for either future movies or possibly even a
prequel TV series. The unresolved plot thread of Leslie Odom Jr.’s Harold McBrayer
is a perfect example of Chase prepping for future opportunities. Such
forethought, however, can be a little frustrating in the present when such “future
opportunities” don’t yet exist.
The Many Saints of Newark spans roughly a half-decade
of time, starting in 1967 and concluding in the early 1970s. As if the fashions,
hair styles, cars, and music aren’t enough to anchor the date, the first half of
the movie transpires in and around the Newark race riots, which occurred between
July 12-17, 1967. It’s during that era when we first meet the Moltisanti and
Soprano crime families, who are linked both by common business interests and
marriage. The Moltisantis are represented by the violent, mercurial
head-of-the-house, ‘Hollywood’ Dick (Ray Liotta); his debonair son, Dickie
(Alessandro Nivola); and his fresh-off-the-boat wife, Giuseppina (Michela De
Rossi). The latter family is comprised of married couple Johnny and Livia (Jon
Bernthal and Vera Farmiga); their son, Tony (Michael Gandolfini); and Johnny’s
brother, Junior (Corey Stoll). Secondary characters include Harold McBrayer
(Leslie Odom Jr.), a runner-turned-rival for Dickie and Johnny, and familiar
names like Paulie Walnuts (Billy Magnusssen) and Silvio Dante (John Magaro).
The main storyline focuses on Dickie’s attempts to
consolidate power while mentoring Tony. After an accidental murder and a
not-so-accidental case of adultery, he finds himself spiritually lacking and
seeks to balance out his evil actions with good deeds. Meanwhile, Johnny is
sent to the slammer and Livia is forced into single-parent duty, a job for which
she is unfit. With Tony running wild, is it any wonder that he is drawn to the
illicit gains of illegal activities rather than pursuing his dream of becoming
a college football player?
The foremost goal in casting actors and shaping their performances
was to evoke younger iterations of known characters. Exempt from this are
Alessandro Nivola, who is allowed to craft Dickie from whole cloth, and an unsettlingly
intense Ray Liotta, whose presence reinforces the ongoing Sopranos/Goodfellas
connections. In both physicality and mannerisms, Michael Gandolfini echoes his
late father. He’s not a dead ringer but, in certain closeups, the resemblance
is evident. Vera Farmiga, who may be cornering the market on overbearing
mothers, draws as much from Edie Falco’s Carmella as from Nancy Marchand.
There’s plenty of violence in The Many Saints of Newark but it’s Chase-style violence, not the more graphic form favored by many gangster film directors. Some of the deaths occur with brutal suddenness – a trademark of the TV series. There’s enough uncertainty regarding the ultimate fates of some characters that even a seasoned Sopranos viewer will never feel completely sure of where the story is going. As for the ending, suffice it to say that one event the movie seems to be building toward is held in abeyance for a future installment. What we get here, however, is enough not only to whet the appetite but to provide a moderately satisfying meal in its own right.
Many Saints of Newark, The (United States, 2021)
Cast: Alessandro Nivola, John Magaro, Billy Magnussen, Michael Gandolfini, Giuseppina Moltisanti, Ray Liotta, Corey Stoll, Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Leslie Odom Jr., Michael Imperioli
Home Release Date: 2021-12-21
Screenplay: David Chase & Lawrence Konner
Cinematography: Kramer Morgenthau
Music:
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers/HBOMax
U.S. Release Date: 2021-10-01
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content, Nudity)
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Subtitles: none
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- (There are no more worst movies of John Magaro)
- (There are no more worst movies of Billy Magnussen)
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