Summary
Johnny Boy gets in over his head with a loan shark…
My Thoughts
Mean Streets is one of Martin Scorseses' earliest works, and his first with now long time collaborator and actor Robert De Niro (Joker) who plays Johnny Boy, a young tough guy with quite the chip on his shoulder, he's a womanizer and a gambling addict, the latter of which gets him in some serious trouble with the higher echelons of the mob who Johnny has borrowed from and not paid back one too many times. Luckily Johnny has a good personality and is very slick with his words, he also confides in his best friend Charlie (Harvey Keitel, Reservoir Dogs) who has much more respect in the crime underworld and does his best to keep Johnny Boy's head above water, but when Charlie gets involved with Johnny's cousin Teresa (Amy Robinson) he becomes distracted and isn't always able to keep Johnny Boy's habits under control. And when the mob comes looking for their money owed, everything escalates in a brutal and bloody conclusion. It's pure Scorsese and even in his earlier works, you know that this man was born to make movies, Mean Streets in pure gritty gangster entertainment.
Scorsese has always known how to blend the atmosphere of his films to correlate directly to his stories, here it's even in the title, this movie is indeed mean, from the gritty crime filled streets of Little Italy in New York, to the tough guy acts that exude masculinity and pride, in an arrogant but humorous and self aware way. None of the characters are particularly likable with the exception of maybe Charlie, but each one is filled with so much anger and ego that it's not about finding something to like in these characters, it's about watching them fall further and further into the pit they've dug for themselves. Johnny Boy could easily work a steady job to earn the money he owes crime bosses around the city, but instead he gambles what little money isn't his, time and time again. It's an interesting and above all entertaining film, even if the characters aren't benevolent.
From the opening shots to the climax and closing credits, it's hard not to compare this film to Scorsese's other later crime/mob works, and while Mean Streets is filled with subtle nuances that the director has only perfected in his years, such as the bar room brawl scene where the camera stays tracking on Johnny as he wrestles and fights others, and the rest of the place is going nuts, it's an impressive shot for such an early filmmaker, but this is still a much smaller scale of a crime drama, unlike say "Goodfellas" or "Casino" and obviously that has to do with the low budget, but the final impact just isn't as wholly satisfying as I wanted it to be for the amount of build up that led to it. Also there's a few very off colored and dated jokes that fit better in the 70s mind frame that just don't go over very well in modern times, I'm happy the director has also changed his ways as time progressed.
What makes this film so watchable isn't just the technical skills of the filmmakers but the performances that are given to compliment the craft. Robert De Niro is only 30 years of age in this and he is absolutely perfect as the wise cracking young gangster who thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread. The confrontation between Johnny and Charlie is chalk full of emotion and drama, showing what power both De Niro and Keitel had from such an early start, and only three years later would De Niro solidify himself as one of the best in Scorsese's masterpiece "Taxi Driver." There's no one set protagonist or antagonist, it's the crime underworld where anything can go. The viewer doesn't blame crime boss Mikey (Richard Romanus) for wanting his money from Johnny but we also understand why Charlie is protecting and sticking up for Johnny, they have a bond that can't be broken. But eventually Mikey has enough and goes after them in the high speed chase ending which could have been dragged out a little longer as it feels rushed, but nonetheless gives us a conclusion to this story.
Overall Mean Streets is exactly that; it's mean, gritty, and dirty full of complex characters in a mob underworld, everyone looking for their piece of the pie. Scorsese is a master at the gangster genre and this one is a good look at his small beginnings and what traits and nuances he's brought up and perfected in his later films. The craft is solid, if a bit dated at times, matched by some sharp writing with three dimensional characters that never bore. Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel give magnificent early performances, that are equal to this early Scorsese film, it blossomed a long running friendship between the director and De Niro and gave us some the finest performances cinema has seen. If you're in the mood for a smart, fast paced 70s gangster drama Mean Streets might just be for you.
I give Mean Streets 4 stars out of 5.
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