Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and the Ron Howard film ‘Far and Away’

It was late in my junior year in high school, at the age of seventeen, when a Ron Howard directed film produced by Brian Grazer came to movie theaters. Far and Away (1992) tells a story of a young Irish couple portrayed by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman who flee Ireland for the United States in search of a better life.

(Tom Cruise as Joseph Donnelly in the film Far and Away).

Class, wealth and the rough and tumble 1890s era, lacking as it was for anything like a safety net for Irish in their homeland or immigrants in the United States, made largely pronounced undercurrents through the course of this film. An unforgiving episode of this exact point introduced us to the prominent characters of Far and Away, along with the general character of the personalities that would define the character through the rest of the film. Tom Cruise as Joseph Donnelly and Nicole Kidman as Shannon Christie would be the unlikely if not readily acknowledged love interest thrown into one another’s universe following the death of Donnelly’s father.

(Nicole Kidman as Shannon Christie in the film Far and Away).

Acting at the behest of the disinterested yet culpable Daniel and Nora Christie, portrayed by Robert Prosky and Barbra Babcock, respectively, Stephen Chase would act harshly in perpetuating an injustice upon Joseph Donnelly that propriety in the world of movies dictates an action of the aggrieved. Daniel Christie comically retaliates to the desired vengeance, garnering the details together that draw the daughter and Daniel and Nora, namely Shannon, to flee to Boston with Donnelly in the hopes of securing land in Oklahoma shortly after arriving in the United States.

(From left, Robert Prosky as Daniel Christie, Barbra Babcock as Nora Christie, Thomas Gibson as Stephen Chase and Colm Meaney as Mike Kelly in the film Far and Away).

It was in Boston, Massachusetts where a bit of calamity occurs befalls Joseph and Shannon, making them spend time and effort repeating some of the unfortunate luck that Joseph Donnelly had been fleeing in Ireland. Boston ward boss and Irish immigrant lends the reluctant couple work and profit in a manner that brings wealth to Donnelly, Kelly, and many others up the corrupt social order in Boston. The exposition here lacks the gritty telling of Gangs of New York (2002), as reviewed by Matt Lynn Digital, but the overtones if not the merciless character of the villain are present in Far and Away.

(From left, movie director Ron Howard and movie producer Brian Grazer on the set of the film Far and Away).

It is after the passage of time, desperation, and an uprising in Ireland that Chase, Daniel Christie, Nora Christie, and Shannon Christie ultimately bring the story of Far and Away full circle in Oklahoma that the narrative points of the movie come together. The villainy of Far and Away comes mostly at the beginning of the film for me, with the decency of a Ron Howard film returning to this narrative through the film without the grit of a movie that was shared ten years later in Gangs of New York. I appreciated the spirit of Far and Away, along with the question of loyalty in love combined with loyalty in family. The other tensions were clear if not presented with the anger and corruption of a Martin Scorsese film. Asking for that here, to be honest, just wouldn’t be fair. I rate Far and Away at 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, August 15, 2020

Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis in Martin Scorsese’s film ‘Gangs of New York’

Consider your favorite movie about coming of age, revenge and gang violence. Mix in blatant notes of racism, misogyny, religious prejudice and immigration with chords of historical resonance. With the Herbert Asbury‘s non-fiction book The Gangs of New York as an inspiration, the Martin Scorsese directed movie Gangs of New York (2002) earns today’s spotlight for the movie world.

(Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallon, left, and Jim Broadbent as Boss Tweed in the film Gangs of New York).

The film Gangs of New York is primarily set in the slums of New York City, New York in the year 1862. Much of the story builds on events from 1846, wherein rival gangs of were shown to fight with knives, clubs and similar weaponry over which faction would hold sway, that is control the illegal functioning of life, within the Five Points neighborhood of lower Manhattan in New York City.

(Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting in the film Gangs of New York).

Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting, as played by Daniel Day-Lewis, fought in one end of the struggle of gangs dating back to 1846. The struggle pitted Cutting and a set of early settlers of the Five Points, against Irish immigrant gangs led by ‘Priest’ Vallon. The elder Vallon was played by Liam Neeson, who dies in that epic opening battle. Without getting into questions of the familial history of Vallon’s wife or the true profession of ‘Priest’ Vallon, we know that Vallon’s death leaves his son an orphan.

(Cameron Diaz as Jenny Everdeane, standing, and Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting, sitting in the film Gangs of New York).

The movie then advances the narrative 16-years, from 1846 to 1862. Cutting sits atop the hierarchy of the Five Points with Boss Tweed (aka William Magear Tweed) of Tammany Hall the politician atop the political structure for the full city. The orphaned son of ‘Priest’ Vallon, who hides his identity from the start by calling himself Amsterdam, returns to the city after aging out of his orphaned upbringing. Jim Broadbent played Boss Tweed in Gangs of New York whereas Leonardo DiCaprio played Amsterdam Vallon.

(John C. Reilly as Happy Jack, center left, Liam Neeson as ‘Priest’ Vallon, center, and Brendan Gleeson as Walter ‘Monk’ McGinn, center right in the film Gangs of New York).

It is soon after returning to the Five Points that, in following Amsterdam Vallon, we slowly see the priests son begin recognizing folks who fought with his father in 1846 having blended into lower Manhattan under the sway of Bill Cutting. Happy Jack as played by John C. Reilly has become a corrupt policeman under the thumb of the Butcher. Walter ‘Monk’ McGinn as played by Brendan Gleeson bridges the stories of ‘Priest’ and ‘Amsterdam’ from a beneficent perspective better than anyone in the film.

(Henry Thomas as Johnny Sirocco, left, and Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallen in the film Gangs of New York).

It is in the stories of Johnny Sirocco, played by Henry Thomas, and Jenny Everdeane, as played by Cameron Diaz, that we begin to see the true vengeance story of Amsterdam Vallon begin to play out. It is in the politics of the Boss Tweed story line that we begin to see the narrative of the film, which diverges significantly from the book, take hold. The love triangle among Amsterdam , Johnny, and Jenny holds sway over learning who Amsterdam is becoming. Jenny’s story in relation to Bill Cutter holds sway over the story over who Amsterdam is becoming. The story of what America is becoming runs parallel to these stories.

(Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallen, left, and Gary Lewis as McGloin in the film Gangs of New York).

The emotional depth of the narrative in the film Gangs of New York, along with where the turn of the story towards climax, bears much of the fruit I have come to expect of many films by Martin Scorese. The presence and complexity of the character of Bill McGloin, who fought with ‘Priest’ Vallon and the others in 1846, is perhaps a leading example of the turns that occurred. The emotional payoff for him comes late in the film; the slow burn carries a bit of emotional punch that was strong that that of Happy Jack, for example. The resolutions of Johnny Sirocco, Walter McGinn, Jenny Everdeane, Amsterdam and Bill were the most poignant in the film.

(Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting, left, between scenes with Gangs of New York director Martin Scorsese).

The historical push that closed the film, with the much anticipated retelling of the opening fight come 16-years later, is perhaps my biggest disappointment in the whole film. All this tension wrought in almost three-hours of movie didn’t end with the emotional catharsis that the story has spent so much building. There was a scene between McGinn and Cutting that hinted at that, yet my harshest criticism of the actual film was this. I rate Gangs of New York at 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, March 18, 2020