Malcolm X (1992)

Another Denzel-starrer to follow on from my colleague's comprehensive review of American Gangster. And it's even on slightly similar territory in the sense that both films are true to life, though I don't think Gangster is a biopic in the same way as Malcolm X.

The material brings me back to a previous thread on MyFilmVault, biopics, why and how they're made and what makes them, and performances which define them, good or bad. This is a difficult topic, and I'll be coming back to it in a forthcoming 'Sunday Morning Political Slot'. But what, for now, of Malcolm X?

Unlike Mahatma Gandhi, I knew very little about X's life, except for the fact that he was a radical civil rights campaigner and that he was brutally and tragically assassinated. The film, therefore, had extra value for me than just being a film, I was genuinely interested in X's life and ideas and will explore his autobiography further as a result of this.

This is, essentially, very solid biopic stuff. Weighty, timely material (the film begins with high-impact footage of the beating of Rodney King in LA by police officers), good performances all round, epic running time and a nice balance between character and ideas. It turns out better, I think, than Gandhi, the most recent example I've seen to compare, but it doesn't reach the heights of arguably less-weighty biopics like the stunning Walk the Line.

Washington is good (as he so often is) as the charismatic and ambiguous X and he's ably supported by a supporting cast, especially the always magnificent (and underrated) Delroy Lindo, Angela Bassett and Albert Hall. The movie feels very well cast and plays out effectively. So much so, in fact, that the 3 hour plus running time breezes by (a high compliment indeed) and leaves you wanting more, particularly around X's early family life.

The real star of the show is Spike Lee. And I don't mean his occasionally dodgy acting (he was very good in Do The Right Thing, but not here). Lee is obviously a very political director and has made a number of important political statements on film, not least with the sublime Do The Right Thing (which I've just realised I've under graded on this site) and the recent Inside Man. And yet, especially for a man with such strong and passionate beliefs, he somehow manages to not rub your face in it. He doesn't tell you what to think, he leaves it to you to make up your own mind. This is personified by Ossie Davis' (real) eulogy to X at the film's end.

There are some outstanding scenes, brilliantly handled, not least the shocking (!) demise of X's father at the hands of the KKK. As I have said, more on X's early life would have been interesting. There are also apparently some inconsistencies concerning fact against fiction. For instance, I have heard that X actually met with KKK leaders because they shared some views about non-integration (X was, initially at least, a fervent black nationalist and was completely and wholly in favour of non-integration) I honestly don't know about this and the circumstances behind it, but it would, of course, have been interesting to include it, although Lee obviously must have had one eye on the clock as the film is lengthy anyway. One thing a good biopic should do is encourage you to go and find out more about its subject's life. And this is something I'll certainly do.

I'll be returning to this film, if not for a while, and I'd recommend it as an interesting introduction to X's life and thought, though gaps and inconsistencies should also be borne in mind.

B+

American Gangster

Another week another A- film, in what is the now comprehensively the best year since 2002. If this continues we'll have another 1999 on our hands.

American Gangster is of course Ridley Scott's latest. A Ridley Scott film is something that would probably go to the top of my start of the year 'top 10 films I'm most looking forward to' list, were I sad enough to make such a thing, which I hasten to add I'm not - in fact I can hand on heart say I've never made such a list.*

Scott is quite simply the best visual director of his, and indeed maybe any, generation. His stunning visual style help realise worlds in diverse arenas such as outer space, war torn Somalia and ancient Rome. You know a few things in advance of a Ridley Scott film. You know every single millimeter of film will be lovingly assembled. Every single frame of celluloid postcard quality crafted by a director that manages to elicit Oscar worthy cinematography in every film he directs. But Scott's films are not empty vessels that are only spectacular to look at. He has managed to direct some of the greatest performances in recent times. Russell Crowe and Oliver Reed in Gladiator. Giancarlo Giannini and Gary Oldman in Hannibal. Sigourney Weaver in Alien. These are absolutely first rate acting masterclasses and it is testament to Scott's ability as a director that he gets the best out of the actors he works with.

One of those is Russell Crowe. This is the third time they've teamed up, following the critically acclaimed Gladiator and the not so critically acclaimed A Good Year (which I'm yet to see.) They will also be working again in Nottingham, a intriguing sounding revisionist take on Robin Hood.Crowe has a reputation for being difficult to work with but I've no idea how fair that is. Certainly it never seems to come across in his work since he's good value in pretty much everything he's ever been in. He was terrific in both The Insider and Gladiator, pitch perfect in Master and Commander, wonderful earlier this year in 3:10 to Yuma and was even good in the atrocious A Beautiful Mind. He has to be one of the best actors working today. Here he teams up with Denzel Washington for the first time in his career and it's a great bit of twin casting. Both these guys are magnetic, dominating screen presences and in a tale such as American Gangster it was essential to cast both roles to actors that carry equal gravitas on screen. Whoever pulled off that masterstroke in this deserves credit. There's some fine casting in supporting roles as well with the likes of Chjwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin, Ted Levine and Ruby Lee adding quality to every scene they're in.


Washington plays Frank Lucas, a genuine American Gangster, responsible for bringing in millions, if not billions of dollars worth of cocaine into America in the 70s, and organising its distribution throughout New York. He was the king pin - indeed the only pin in his organisation. Despite being such a dominant figure in the crime world, Lucas went undetected by law enforcement for an unbelievably long time. Eventually Richie Roberts, played by Crowe, comes on the scene and Lucas belatedly comes under investigation. Roberts slowly realises the significance of Lucas within the New York crime world and from there pursues his arrest with vigour.

Scott's American Gangster is as handsome as you would expect. It is brilliantly shot as always and the set design is impeccable - you genuinely feel like your watching a movie made on location in 70s New York. What makes this rank amongst his best work however is the brilliance of Steven Zallian's script. This is a cop vs bad guy movie with a difference. There's no expansive cat and mouse chase, there's no elaborate action sequences where Crowe and Washington go toe to toe. In fact for a large chunk of the running time they are not even aware of each other's existence. That's the beauty of American Gangster and what sets it apart from other movies in this genre.

Washington seems to have few moral qualms about the life he leads and openly murders one of his rivals on the streets of Harlem. Crowe on the other hand is a completely straight shooter, one who discovers 1 million dollars in unmarked bills, and hands them over without thinking about it. Such polar morals may suggest these two are completely different but it's fascinating to see that they're not actually that far apart at all. Crowe's social life reveals his own deep flaws, whilst Washington's seems to reflect a fine upstanding family man. Scott and Zallian have crafted a film that takes it's time in introducing us to two brilliantly realised characters. Lucas and Roberts have so much in common you wonder whether if their upbringings had been reversed they may both have found themselves on opposite side of the law. A film featuring just one terrific character study would be worth watching but this features two.

Scott's Gangster is return to form for both he and Crowe after their disappointment with A Good Year. It should get Scott back on the Ocsar map and he's certainly overdue a Best Director Oscar having been passed over twice whenhe should have been the logical choice. Alien in 1979 and Gladiator, which absurdly managed to win Best Picture, but still Crowe couldn't get Best Director. Gladiator is a film that relies on its brilliant direction and even single handedly reviving a dead genre couldn't get him ythe prize he desetved. I suspect he won't win this year either but it would be nice to see him nominated. Heck Scorsese was nominated and won for the far inferior The Departed. I'd love to think they'll see fit to reward Scott this year.

American Gangster is not the perfect movie. If I had a criticism I'd say at 2 hours 37 minutes it's a little short. Things are wrapped up a little too quickly for my liking in the third act. There are some brilliant sequences that echo great films such as The Godfather and Goodfellas but come the end of the running time, I just felt it had been a little rushed in places but that's as much praise as criticism. I could have easily gone another half an hour and how many times can you come out of a 160 minute film and say that?

A-

*look out for my top 10 most anticipated films in January