An Englishman in New York

Scott directs Crowe and Washington on the streets of New York.

I had a quite a few reservations about the latest Ridley Scott movie, American Gangster, before seeing it.

I don't know why, but I was just not buying it. I think that my initial scepticism stemmed partly from the clumsy title. I also think that Scott’s own standards have fallen a little in recent years. The casting was also a little uninspired. Denzel Washington has never really done it for me. I have always put him in a similar box to Tom Hanks, in that both actors have featured in a lot of very formulaic, mainstream fare.

Then there is Russell Crowe. Is he half as good as he thinks he is? There is no doubt that he was magnificent in Gladiator, and certainly deserved the Academy Award he received for the role. Since then, I am not so sure.

Having now seen American Gangster, I am remain unconvinced. I think the first thing to say is that it is a fairly good film. Scott really brings 70s Harlem to life, although some of the set pieces are a little too stylized. On more than once occasion I did think we were veering too close to the territory of music video or fast food advertisement.

Washington is good, and so is Crowe. And so are the majority of the supporting actors. I just felt that there was something not quite right. Carlito’s Way seemed to cover similar ground with a little bit more élan and authenticity. The French Connection is the obvious point of reference, and I think Scott’s film comes second to that one too.

I know that Tarantino has very little reputation left, but I am slowly appreciating his point about certain middle aged film directors. There is something about their output that does not work. However, I do think that Mann, Scorcese, De Palma and maybe Spielberg would have all made a better movie than Scott. Perhaps this all comes down to where people are from. Scott is British, so how can he be expected to tell the story of a big American city with any degree of success. He grew up in Newcastle, not New York.