American Gangster - Preview
Preview by Jack Foley
NOVEMBER looks set to be a great month for movies, what with the likes of Sean Penn’s Into The Wild, Robert Redford’s Lions For Lambs and Brad Pitt’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Another heavyweight is Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, the latest to reunite the director with Russell Crowe and co-starring Denzel Washington.
The film tells the true juggernaut success story of a cult figure from the streets of 1970s Harlem, Frank Lucas (played by Oscar® winner Washington), who rose from the quiet driver to one of the inner city’s leading black crime bosses to one of the biggest and most successful drug lords in America.
Frank exploits the opening in the power structure following his boss’s death to build his own empire and create his own version of the American Dream. Through ingenuity and a strict business ethic, he comes to rule the inner-city drug trade, flooding the streets with a purer product at a better price.
In doing so, Lucas outplays all of the leading crime syndicates and becomes not only one of the city’s mainline corrupters, but part of its circle of legit civic superstars. But he also exploits the Vietnam War and becomes a target for the cops – both good and corrupt.
Primary among the good cops on Frank’s trail is Richie Roberts (Oscar® winner Crowe), an outcast close enough to the streets to feel a shift of control in the drug underworld. Roberts believes someone is climbing the rungs above the known Mafia families and starts to suspect that a black power player has come from nowhere to dominate the scene.
Both Lucas and Roberts share a rigorous ethical code that sets them apart from their own colleagues, making them lone figures on opposite sides of the law. But as the ensuing investigation brings them closer together, the destinies of these two men will become intertwined as they head to an inevitable confrontation from which only one can come out on top.
American Gangster borrows heavily from seminal 70s movies such as The French Connection and The Godfather to deliver an intense crime saga that unfolds from two very different perspectives. It’s a strong return to form for the Crowe-Scott partnership after the disappointing A Good Year and boasts yet another powerhouse performance from Washington.
It also marks the first on-screen reunion of Crowe and Washington since their long-forgotten virtual thriller Virtuosity and, according to the former, marks a form of payback given that Denzel was instrumental in securing Russell his first really big role in Hollywood.
Incredibly, for a film of its calibre and undoubted Oscar appeal, American Gangster has experienced a chequered history and taken on several forms. Training Day’s Antoine Fuqua was originally set to direct the project in 2004 with Washington and Benicio Del Toro in the leads, but production was halted one month before shooting after Universal Pictures cancelled the film over budget concerns.
Terry (Hotel Rwanda) George was also set to direct at one stage, with Don Cheadle in the leading role and Joaquin Phoenix poised to play Richie Roberts. And even Brad Pitt was considered for the role of Roberts at one point, eventually losing out to Crowe.
When it finally got approved by Universal, Scott worked hard to maintain authenticity in order to do justice to the incredible true story that unfolds. Hence, the real Richie Roberts and Frank Lucas were major consultants to the director on the New York set and Washington spent time with Lucas, his real-life alter ego, to enhance his research. As a sign of gratitude, Washington even reportedly bought Lucas a Rolls-Royce after filming wrapped.
Don’t bet against either Crowe or Washington featuring in the awards race once the season begins later this year. American Gangster opens in UK cinemas on November 16.