THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK:
SOPRANOS PREQUEL IS EXHILARATING IF NOT A LITTLE UNFOCUSED!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
WARNER BROS. PICTURES, NEW LINE CINEMA, AND HBO FILMS
The origin of infamous mobster, Tony Soprano is finally revealed in The Many Saints of Newark, the new crime drama and prequel to the HBO TV series, The Sopranos created by David Chase (who also produced and wrote the screenplay for this film). The film is directed by Alan Taylor (Palookaville, Thor: The Dark World, Terminator: Genisys) and stars Michael Gandolfini (Ocean’s 8, The Deuce, Cherry) as a young Tony Soprano, who was portrayed by his late father, James Gandolfini in the series, and follows the origins of how he became the all-powerful mob boss we know, hate, and kind of love.
I’ll be completely honest, I have never seen The Sopranos show before, I know of it and I got the basic gist of what it’s about, but I’ve never actually sat down and binged it (Aside from maybe a few random episodes I watched one night years ago). So, I went into this film completely blind and will (attempt to) judge it as a standalone film and determine if it’s a movie where you need to have watched the show prior to it or if it works on its own merits.
And hey, since this is an origin story about a young Tony Soprano then it could probably be a good entry point for a newcomer to get into the series, right? Yeah, it’s okay!
There are great moments in this film with spectacular acting from the cast, but plot, pacing, and execution wise, it’s a bit of a mess. Also, if you saw the trailers and posters thinking it’s going to be a 100% Tony Soprano movie, it is not that kind of film, Tony is in it, but he’s not in it that much as he is a very minor character in the film, and instead the movie focuses more on the character of Tony’s uncle, Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola-Face/Off, Jurassic Park III, Doll & Em) and shows the connection Tony has with him.
I’m totally fine with it being a Dickie Moltisanti movie and as previously mentioned there are a lot of excellent scenes in it that made me glad, I saw it, but what keeps it from being great to me is that the film’s narrative is cluttered and feels very choppily edited. It constantly shifts back and forth between plotlines, one minute you’re with Dickie, the next you’re following this person, and then that person, and now this plot point, and now that plot point and the film never really gives enough time to establish all these plotlines going on, it’s very unfocused.
Set in 1967, the film follows Tony Soprano (Gandolfini), a young boy growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark history, the 1967 Newark riots and becoming a man just as rival gangsters being to rise up to challenge the DiMeo crime family’s hold over in the increasingly race-torn city. Caught in the middle of the chaos in Newark is Tony’s uncle that he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti (Nivola) who tries to manage both his professional and personal responsibilities and whose influence on his nephew will eventually transform this teenager into the all-powerful crime boss we all know.
The film also stars Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton, Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Harriet) as Harold McBrayer, Vera Farmiga (The Departed, The Conjuring trilogy, Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)) as Livia Soprano, Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, The Punisher (TV series), Baby Driver) as Johnny Soprano, Corey Stoll (House of Cards, Ant-Man, Black Mass) as Junior Soprano, Ray Liotta (Field of Dreams, Goodfellas, The Place Beyond the Pines) as twins, “Hollywood Dick” and Salvatore “Sally” Moltisanti, Billy Magnussen (Game Night, Aladdin(2019), No Time to Die) as Paulie Walnuts, John Magaro (The Big Short, Orange is the New Black, The Umbrella Academy) as Silvio Dante, Michael Imperioli (Goodfellas, Bad Boys, The Basketball Diaries) reprising his role from The Sopranos as Christopher Moltisanti (Who also narrates the film), Samson Moeakiola as Pussy Bonpensiero, Joey Diaz (My Name is Earl, Spider-Man 2, The Longest Yard (2005)) as Pussy’s father, Buddha, Alexandra Intrator as Janice Soprano, Lesli Margherita (Boogeyman 2, Zorro, Matilda the Musical) as Iris Balducci, Talia Balsam (Little Manhattan, All the King’s Men, No Strings Attached) as Mrs. Jarecki, Kathryn Kates (Seinfeld, Orange is the New Black, Shades of Blue) as Angie DeCarlo, Nick Vallelonga (The Godfather, Goodfellas, Green Book) as Carmine Cotuso, Ed Marinaro (Queens Logic, The Protector, Urban Legends: Bloody Mary) as Jilly Ruffalo, and Robert Vincent Montano, Chase Vacnin, Oberon K.A. Adjepong, and Lauren DiMario as Sopranos characters, Artie Bucco, Jackie Aprile, Frank Lucas, and Carmela De Angelis.
Overall, The Many Saints of Newark is a well-crafted and riveting crime drama with solid performances by the cast and plenty of fan service for fans of the series, but for a movie that’s either aimed at Sopranos aficionados or as an entry point for someone who wants to get into the show, it leaves a lot to be desired. Keep in mind, I thought a good half of this movie was extremely solid, but I thought the plot and character development could have been a little better.
The plot jumps around from character to character and that probably would have been fine for a TV series where you have multiple episodes to establish these characters and story elements, but for a 2-hour movie, it doesn’t really give us much time to grow attached to these characters when the plot keeps jumping back and forth and often feels very choppy in the editing. However, when the film focuses on Dickie, Tony, or any of the other characters from the show, I was into it and most of the actors they chose to play younger versions of their television counterparts are excellent and some are almost uncanny to how much they look like the characters (I’ve seen pictures of what many of the Sopranos characters look like and compared them to the actors that play them in this film).
Alessandro Nivola in this movie is amazing as Dickie, a violent gangster who gets his hands quite dirty, but is also very charismatic and you feel a strong connection between him and Tony whenever they’re onscreen together. Despite only appearing in a handful of scenes, Michael Gandolfini is not only phenomenal as a young Tony Soprano, but it’s also eerie at how much he actually looks like his father and even though I’m not overly familiar with the show, some of the things he does I can see a young Tony Soprano probably do like hijack an ice cream truck.
Whether a longtime fan of The Sopranos or a newcomer, The Many Saints of Newark might be worth at least a viewing and the scenes that work really work. But, given how there’s also various story and character development issues, maybe just watch it at home on HBO Max for free, you don’t need to flock to the cinema for this middle-of-the-road Sopranos prequel.
From the blog www.moviewatchinpsychopath.blogspot.com
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