The last film of a great film maker is usually a disappointment and it happens because of age and inevitable comparisons with titles made when such film maker was in his prime. One of the rare giants of cinema to escape such fate was Sergio Leone and it could be argued that he did it by going away from his comfort zone. Leone, known as great admirer but also a keen critical observer of American mythology, redefined entire genre and making “spaghetti western” part of any cinephiles’ vocabulary. In 1984, after a pause that lasted than more than a decade, Leone tried to do the same with another American genre with his gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America.
The film is based on Hoods, semi-autobiographical novel by Jewish American gangster Harry Grey, allegedly written while he was serving prison sentence in Sing-Sing. The protagonist, played by Scott Tier as adolescent and Robert De Niro as adult, is David “Noodles” Aaronson and the plot covers roughly fifty years of his life, starting with early days in Jewish enclave of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Like many youths in that impoverished community, he turned to crime and formed street gang with his friends. Maximilian “Max” Bercovicz (played by Rusty Jacobs as adolescent and James Woods as adult), newly arrived from Bronx, joins the gang and becomes Noodles’ best friend. Gang’s activities become more lucrative, due to connections with organised crime and opportunities provided by Prohibition. Noodles’ career of bootlegger is put on hold after bloody encounter with rival gangster that resulted with twelve years of prison. After release Noodles rejoins the gang, now presided by Max who accumulated wealth and dreams of branching into legitimate business and politics. All those dreams are threatened by the end of Prohibition that could deprive their gang of steady income, so Max decides to secure it by audacious but ludicrously risky plan. In an attempt to save his friend, Noodles decides to betray him. This goes disastrously wrong and ends in tragic bloodshed, forcing Noodles to leave New York. After decades of hiding and feeling guilt, Noodles receives mysterious invitation and returns in order to face ghosts of his past, which includes famous actress Deborah (played by Elizabeth McGovern and Jennifer Connelly as adolescent) who used to be great love of his life.
This film had impressive budget, many of it spent on scenes shot on locations and studios at two continents, with hard work being invested in costumes, set, props and other period detail necessary to reconstruct various eras. But the most epic and almost fatal thing about Once Upon a Time in America proved to be its length. Leone envisioned it at two-part film lasting six hours in total, but in the end shortened it to around four hours. Producers initially butchered the film in half for US theatrical distribution, making the plot in that version incomprehensible. They also ditched non-linear narrative structure from Leone’s original version, thinking it would be rejected by audiences unaccustomed to such unconventional technique in big budget mainstream films. Thankfully, the longer version was shown in international markets and, ultimately, became released to home video. Despite not winning any prestigious awards, Once Upon a Time in America was widely praised by critics and is considered one of the best gangster films ever made.
Leone has spent more than a decade trying to make this film and the time passed is reflected in somewhat different approach, style and tone than in his previous films. His main theme is still American Dream and its connection with often much darker and more prosaic reality. That reality, unlike in the vast expanses shown in Once Upon a Time in the West, looks even more sinister in overcrowded impoverished urban ghettos, where the only ways to succeed in life seem to be immoral and illegal. Partly due to that and partly due to laxer censorship standards, Once Upon a Time in America features more explicit violence than in previous Leone’s films, as well as nudity. The film itself begins with a scenes featuring brutal killings and torture, and one of the most memorable moments features unpleasant and disturbing rape scene. Thankfully, Leone compensates that with brief moments of levity and humour, like in the scene during which one of the Patsy (played by Brian Bloom), young gang member, attempts to lose virginity to local “easy” girl Peggy (played by Julie Cohen) but fails due to the temptation brought by cake. Another is scene in which police captain, brilliantly played by character actor Danny Aiello, becomes target of ingenious, cruel but funny and effective extortion scheme. Those scenes are also crucial for creating sympathies for characters who would otherwise be unbearable to watch due to being involved in violent and reprehensible acts.
This is also achieved thanks to the cast, one of the best in history of cinema. Robert De Niro gives an excellent example of top actor in his prime. Noodles is one of the best roles of his career and in it he brilliantly portrays man tortured by time lost behind bars and unrequited love, torn between genuine affection and uncontrolled lust and, later, guilt over the bad things he had done. De Niro’s performance is even greater considering that he plays man in his late twenties and early sixties with same skill and confidence. James Woods is also great as Max, character who is megalomaniac madman and ruthless manipulator at the same time. Other notable performances are delivered by William Forsythe and James Hayden (who tragically died of heroin overdose before the premiere) as gang members Patsy and Cockeye, Tuesday Weld as Max’ slutty girlfriend Carol and relatively unknown Larry Rapp as Deborah’s brother Fat Moe. Even the actors playing the characters in their early years do formidable job, but only angelic looking Jennifer Connelly managed to become star as an adult. Good acting is accompanied by Leone’s masterful direction and brilliant cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli. Another great asset of this film is soundtrack by Leone’s old associate Ennio Morricone, who skilfully played with different styles and eras (ranging from classics to John Lennon) and delivered original and memorable piece of music which in many ways helps maintain nostalgic and melancholic tone of the film.
Once Upon a Time in America is great film, but it isn’t perfect. Some subplots, including those who deal with issues like connections between American organised crime and political establishment, best embodied in character of Hoffa-like union leader Jimmy O’Donnell (played by Treat Williams), are slightly underused. Some viewers, especially those accustomed to MTV-style of film making, would still have problems with Leone’s sense of pace. On the other hand, non-linear narrative structure wouldn’t pose much of problem after decades of films like Pulp Fiction that used similar techniques. Leone in the end plays with the audience by ambiguous finale that leaves many questions unanswered and allows different interpretations, including those that explain much of the latter parts of the film as Noodles’ opium-induced dream. This might frustrate some viewers but most would probably appreciate great piece of film making. Leone died five years after this film and Once Upon a Time in America remained great last title in the relatively small but impressive filmography of a cinema giant.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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It's a great film, I saw the four hour version, but I didn't find it long, it was quite entertaining.
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Sublime, masterful, perfect gangster film on a par with the Godfather, mistreated in its time by a terrible editing. Today in its original editing it is a jewel, it is a must see for a cinephile. Very good script, excellent performances, lots of drama, suspense, action, human miseries. The question remains whether it was all a dream or not, it depends on how we interpret this work of art. Great review.
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