IR Film Review: THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK [Warner Brothers]
The traction of Tony Soprano's psychology and imbalance/balance is an interesting quagmire but one if tracked should almost assuredly lead to his childhood. David Chase and his director Alan Taylor are good at character work but "The Many Saints Of Newark" despite itself never takes on a mythic quality say like Scorsese except in one of its actors and it is not the one you might think. The film moves around but does so like a TV show and not in movie making terms in terms of sweeping gestures. "The Sopranos" in all actuality is quite good on TV for a reason, because it is about those small moments that don't need grand cinematic gestures. Michael Gandolfini who plays the teenage Tony (and is the now-passed James Gandolfini's actual son) is good but almost (and on purpose) an observer in the stories that are happening and how they affect him. There are plenty of the personalities we know and don't know...and the film is filled with Easter Eggs if you are a fan of the show.
However you have to know the show to really enjoy the film because it is insular to that experience...save for one actor: Alessandro Nivola. He is the one of course that has the most influence on the young Tony as his Uncle Dickie. Dickie has the hot head but also the passion and intelligence...the contemplation of self but also the killer instinct. He is everything Tony loves and despises eventually. Nivola has done good work over the years but most know him as Pollux Troy to Nicolas Cage's Castor in "Face Off" in 1997. His character here is not even recognizable in comparison. Dickie has those grand gestures (spoken of earlier) and certain sequences, specifically in a car and on a beach move this undeniably (but these are spurts in the movie). There are some interesting side characters by gifted actors both playing caricatures and plot points including those like Silvio and Big Pussy. However the two cinematic actors stand out but don't have Nivola's arc and don't have enough depth.
Vera Farmiga plays Tony's mother (covered in prosthetics). Her treatment of him and mixed signals definitely lay a ground work but it feels two-dimensional in a way (save for one scene inside a principal's office). Ray Liotta is at his best post "Narc" as two characters who are mirror reflections but he too is playing a periphery and not a true character. As a result, the swings seem cartoonish and not grounded enough. This is the guy who was Henry Hill but he doesn't have the right things to do here to make it mythic. But again, this is not "Goodfellas". It is a different world but the cadence doesn't feel quite right. John Bernthal plays Tony's father who is away in prison for part of the film but he seems more a presence than a character, a representation of the old guard that, while important, is not Dickie.
The proponents at the conclusion make sense but the film almost ends in a cliffhanger as if there is more story to tell (which there is). Tony Soprano is half formed (so you see where he is going) but this was more about what formed him and not him itself. Oddly enough, the person that most changed his life beyond Dickie is actually Junior. Seeing how that works (and understanding its requisite consequence) coupled with the smaller but precise work by Corey Stoll (as Junior) is also one of the gifts of the film. The issue is that the film is insular and inclusive of its fans but doesn't spread itself cinematically or in other ways that might have belied a bigger canvas. Another aspect that is covered is the riots in Belmont and that subsection of the story with Leslie Odom Jr. is quite dynamic but again is played like a side story that will be paying off in the next episode. But Chase and company are almost approaching this in the parlay of an episodic, which is great for that format but doesn't work as well in a theatrical film form. One moment of cinematic superlative does stick out though in one moment as lights are turned off and Tony, downtrodden, walks away into the darkness in the falling snow. C
By Tim Wassberg
