American Gangster

Based on the true stories of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), who rose to power in the 1970’s Harlem drug trade by applying the fundamentals of capitalism, and Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), the detective tasked with bringing him down.

American Gangster is a well-written, well-produced gangster drama carried by solid performances from its two leads.

The script by Steven Zaillian does a great job with the character of Frank Lucas. Avoiding the temptation to whitewash the character in order to make him more palatable for audiences, Zaillian instead paints him as a ruthless opportunist, charming on the outside but prone to violent outbursts that hint at an underlying sociopath nature.

Granted, Zaillian wrote the script knowing Denzel Washington would play the lead, and a tailor-written role is always easier, but that shouldn’t diminish Washington’s effort. He’s absolutely believable from the opening scene and carries much of the film with his alternately charismatic and frightening performance.

The Richie Roberts character is weaker by comparison. Zaillian has several characters tell us how flawed Roberts is, but we never see it. We get hints and suggestions, but for the most part Zaillian paints Roberts as a driven, hard-working boy scout. Thankfully, Zaillian realizes this shortcoming and gives Roberts a backseat to the much more interesting Lucas character.

For his part, Russell Crowe brings a solid authenticity to the role. With his slight gut, and tired eyes, Crowe looks like a cop. Further, his innate charisma allows him to project a strong screen presence and easily carry the film when Washington is off-screen.

Director Ridley Scott does a fantastic job of recreating 1970’s New York. While he may lack Scorcese’s innate flair, Scott is a technical master. This isn’t a great movie, but it is a very good one.

Finally, at 2 hours and 37 minutes, American Gangster is a long movie, but it never feels like one. Scott does a wonderful job of moving the story along, grabbing the audience from the first scene and never letting go. He teeters a bit toward the film’s end when Ruby Dee threatens to go off the rails, but quickly rights himself and delivers a very satisfying ending.