Scorsese sure does love his violence, but he’s also fascinated by obscure chapters of history told on an epic scale, especially when stories are driven by deeply held religious convictions or other belief systems. This is his wheelhouse.
The violence isn’t just an assault on the eyes, but on the ears as well, as he frequently elevates brutal scenes with equally aggressive bursts of music. Combine that with his occasional campy filmmaking flourishes like title cards, expressionistic lighting, frenetic camera movements, and dramatic zooms, and you get the unmistakable Scorsese style. He clearly has a lot of fun making his movies.
Scorsese’s lead characters are frequently tormented, trapped in difficult circumstances that force them to act. And playing characters who are cornered, paranoid, terrified of being exposed is precisely what Leonardo DiCaprio does best. These are the roles he was born to play. This is also one of his first adult roles, and you can tell that his screen presence and performance are maturing. Daniel Day-Lewis is magnificent at playing unhinged characters, not unlike the ones Mel Gibson has portrayed over the years, but Day-Lewis plays a calm simmering intensity better than Gibson ever has. Gleeson is terrific, as always.
Accents are inconsistent. DiCaprio’s comes and goes, though perhaps that’s appropriate for an Irish immigrant raised in America. Diaz’s accent surfaces briefly before disappearing without explanation. Day-Lewis, an English actor of Irish descent, adopts an accent that’s uniquely his own. At this point, it feels like he’s just playing with us.
Beautiful long takes, extraordinary costumes and sets, and visual effects that blend convincingly contribute to an authentic recreation of 19th-century New York.
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