It's fair to say that Martin Scorsese and Oscar have had a pretty good relationship as he's found one of his films in the Best Picture category in the last three decades. These films; Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, all starred the great Robert De Niro and propelled the actor to stardom. In the early 21st Century, Scorsese all but ditched De Niro in favour of another star; Leonardo DiCaprio. We first met DiCaprio as a young actor who just happened to be cast in the lead role in one of the biggest films of all time; Titanic. Although the film itself was visually spectacular, I didn't really rate DiCaprio's performance and found him a little immature. However, as the noughties rolled on it appeared as if Scorsese and DiCaprio brought out the best in each other and their partnership finally saw the former pick up his well-deserved Best Director Oscar.
Scorsese's first collaboration with DiCaprio was Gangs of New York a film that the director had been working on for several decades. Based loosely on Herbert Asbury's non-fiction work of the same name Gangs of New York looks at the 19th century conflict between Irish immigrants and American natives as they fought for supremacy over several decades. I found that Scorsese dragged you into the picture kicking and screaming with an opening fight between Irish Priest Vallon's Dead Rabbits and the merciless Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting's Natives. This opening fight scene ultimately sees Vallon murdered by Cutting and his son Amsterdam being shipped off to an orphanage. DiCaprio then appears as the older incarnation of Amsterdam whose set on revenge against the man who killed his father. Instead of waging war against Cutting straight away, Amsterdam instead infiltrates his gang and at one point even saves his life. Cutting eventually begins to look upon Amsterdam as a son and therefore feels even more betrayed when he finally learns the truth. The film's third act sees Amsterdam's recovery from Bill's attack on him and his attempts to gain power in the city. It's in this third act that DiCaprio comes alive as Amsterdam empowers his Irish brethren and in doing so appoints one of his father's old allies as the town's sheriff. The film ends with another incredibly engaging fight sequence as Amsterdam takes the place of his father in the new incarnation of The Dead Rabbits. However, this fight plays out slightly differently as it coincides with the New York City Draft Riots and means that Cutting and Amsterdam have to contend with another conflict going on behind them. I found that this final sequence was a fitting end to a film that was problematic but ultimately satisfying.
It's clear to see that Gangs of New York was a labour of love for Scorsese and it apparently took him several years to complete. Part of the reason for this was his struggle to make the piece as authentic as possible down to making sure that each character's accent was spot on. One of the most impressive elements of Gangs of New York was its production design, which shockingly didn't win the Oscar in that category. Production designer Dante Ferretti recreated over a mile of mid-nineteenth century buildings in Rome where the filming took place. Ferretti's design is eye-catching from the initial scene which focuses on Cutting and The Priest's battle for the Five Points. Everything about Gangs of New York is designed within an inch of its life from the outstanding costumes to the perfectly coiffed moustached of Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays Bill 'The Butcher' with great aplomb. In fact Day-Lewis holds the film together at times and his performance earned Gangs of New York its only acting Oscar. Day-Lewis dominates the screen and showed us glimpses of There Will be Blood's Daniel Plainview; a role that snatched him his second Best Actor Oscar five years after Gangs of New York. The decision to cast Cameron Diaz as Amsterdam's love interest Jenny was an interesting one and I personally felt she fell short of the mark. Meanwhile, I found DiCaprio's acting style to be rather petulant and didn't think he was a match for Day-Lewis' scenery chewing. At the same time there were hints that Scorsese was bringing the best out in DiCaprio as his performance was certainly more assured than when we saw him in Titanic. As a whole I found Gangs of New York to be overly long and there was at least half a dozen scenes that were surplus to requirements. But it's hard to knock a film to which the director has clearly devoted so much time to perfecting. The combination of exquisite production design, a fine supporting cast and Day-Lewis' turn as The Butcher means that Gangs of New York is an enthralling watch even if it isn't the masterpiece that Scorsese intended it to be.
Two years later, Scorsese found himself at the Oscars once again with his Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator being nominated for Best Picture. In contrast to Gangs of New York, The Aviator didn't start of as Scorsese's baby and instead had been an idea floating around Hollywood since the 1970s. The Hughes biopic finally gained legs in the late 1990s with DiCaprio signed on to star whilst Michael Mann was set to direct. However, Mann was later dropped by the studio and replaced by Scorsese; partially due to his prior working relationship with DiCaprio. It was certainly clear that in the two years since Gangs of New York DiCaprio had come on leaps and bounds as an actor. It was also evident that he'd done his research into Howard Hughes' OCD; a condition that made him unable to deal with germs of any kind. If I had a particular issue with The Aviator then it was with John Logan's screenplay which I felt was rather episodic. The first act dealt with Hughes' creation of Hells' Angels before going on to look at his relationship with Katherine Hepburn. It was the Hughes and Hepburn story that really captured my imagination, partially as I'd followed the latter's career throughout the course of this blog. The film then follows Hughes' continued problems with Pan-Am and his eventual trial by the Senate. I thought that this latter half of the film was a lot less interesting with the trial scenes feeling rather clichéd. Additionally, I believe that Ava Gardner wasn't as compelling a female lead as Hepburn had been during the film's earlier moments. However, at least Logan ended the film superbly with a small victory for Hughes being followed by the suggestion that his mental health may be at its worst.
If I remember correctly, The Aviator was the definite favourite to win the Best Picture prize going into the 2005 Oscars. Although it ultimately didn't triumph in that category, it did go on to pick up an impressive five statuettes on the night. Winners included cinematographer Robert Richardson and editor Thelma Schoonmaker both of whom made the aerial scenes absolutely stunning. Dante Farretti was also rewarded with an Oscar for his recreation of Hughes' many aircrafts as well as recreating classic Hollywood landmarks. Most deserving of all was Cate Blanchett who, in my humble opinion, stole the show as the feisty Katherine Hepburn. As somebody who has watched a large amount of Katherine Hepburn films in the last few years, I can say without a doubt that Blanchett captured the actress' key mannerisms to a tea. It's a telling sign of Blanchett's skill that after she leaves the film the quality dips with Kate Beckinsale's Ava Gardner being incredibly inferior in comparison. Alan Alda was given a Best Supporting Actor nod for his role as the corrupt Senator Brewster, who attempted to bring down Hughes in order to help his friend at Pan-Am airways. However, the most impressive turn came from DiCaprio himself who I felt perfectly anchored the film as the troubled Hughes. One of Logan's strengths was to gradually build up the theme of Hughes' OCD which was aided by Schoonmaker's editing of certain situations. DiCaprio was therefore able to hint at his character's downfall before he descended briefly into madness. Although DiCaprio lost that year's Best Actor award to Ray's Jamie Foxx he still demonstrated for the first time that he was capable of leading an epic such as The Aviator. Whilst I wasn't a fan of the film's episodic structure, Scorsese once again put together a classic Hollywood epic that looked fantastic. Unfortunately it was yet another film that failed to net him that elusive Best Director prize.
That prize would finally come his way two years later in yet another film that featured Leonardo DiCaprio in one of the lead roles. This time it was The Departed; an adaptation of the Korean Infernal Affairs series which saw the action transplanted to downtown Boston. As well as teaming up with DiCaprio for the third time, The Departed also saw Scorsese work with blog favourite Jack Nicholson in his most recent Oscar-nominated film to date. The film saw Nicholson play Boston mob boss Frank Costello, who was based on real-life Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. The early scenes of The Departed focus on Costello's mentoring of the impressionable Michael Sullivan who would later go on to become an officer in the Boston PD. Sullivan, played by Matt Damon, uses his new found position to feed information to Costello in order for him to evade detection. At the same time the Boston Police Chief enlists DiCaprio's police cadet Billy Costigan to go undercover in Costello's gang in order to feed them information. The film then follows Sullivan and Costigan's stories as they attempt to evade detection in the organisations that they've found themselves in. Another connection between the pair is police psychologist Madolyn Madden, who begins a relationship with Sullivan and eventually becomes his live-in girlfriend. At the same time Madden treats Costigan as a patient and the two begin an affair behind Sullivan's back. Like Gangs of New York and The Aviator before it, The Departed is a little overlong and like Scorsese's previous two Oscar contenders it clocks in at two and a half hours. However, after a slow start, The Departed finally gets going in its final hour where revelations are thrown out at an alarming speed. The finale is especially breathtaking and I remember being taken aback the first time I watched it over seven years ago.
When Scorsese won his Oscar for The Departed, which itself was that year's Best Picture winner, it was said that it was like him being awarded a Lifetime Achievement award for an inferior film. Although The Departed is far from Scorsese's most accomplished film it's still an interesting crime picture which has a lot to say about identity and what truly defines us. Screenwriter William Monahan's screenplay was definitely the strongest of the three films in this post and all of the major characters' motives are perfectly explained. Though it doesn't look as good as the two prior films, I believe that The Departed is Scorsese at his best as it's a grimy film that explores the underbelly of city life. Boston appears as a character in its own right thanks to Michael Ballhaus' fantastic cinematography. Meanwhile Leonardo DiCaprio shines once again as the conflicted Costigan who is constantly looking over his shoulder just in case he gets rumbled. Costigan is definitely the most interested role that DiCaprio has played up to this point although he wasn't awarded with a Best Actor nomination for this particular film. However DiCaprio did feature in that year's line-up for his turn in another film; Blood Diamond and I think this is possibly due to the fact that he and Matt Damon share equal screen time. I was also impressed by Damon's turn as the quick-witted Sullivan who ultimately destroys the man he work so hard to protect. Elsewhere Nicholson gives a scene-stealing turn as the terrifying Costello and Vera Farmiga held her own as Madolyn; the only woman to really feature strongly in the film. It was odd then that none of these performers earned an Oscar nod with The Departed's only acting nomination being given to Mark Wahlberg as the foul-mouthed Staff Sgt. Dignam. The Departed also utilised popular music well with The Rolling Stone's 'Gimme Shelter' and Dropkick Murphys' 'Shipping Up to Boston' being used several time throughout its run time. Ultimately, though not Scorsese's best work, The Departed deserved the plaudits it garnered thanks to its enthralling final act and a fine ensemble cast. It also proved that DiCaprio and Scorsese were a winning partnership and I think this post proved that they definitely brought out the best in one another.
That's not the end for Scorsese and DiCaprio whose partnership would result in another Oscar-nominated film in the following decade but that's another story. Next time however we look at a little British film that struck a chord with audiences and critics alike.
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