American Gangster

Ridley Scott is one of the most prolific directors alive today. He has had some fantastic films over the years (Alien, Blade Runner, Black Hawk Down, and Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut), but also some very mediocre material, especially the overrated Braveheart rip-off known as Gladiator. Fortunately for us, here Scott hits another one out of the park.

American Gangster is the rags-to-riches story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a Southern black man who rises to fame and fortune in Harlem during the Vietnam era. Lucas starts out as the driver for a prominent area business man/crime boss. When his boss dies, Lucas decides he has the desire and the know-how to take control of Harlem. The business is heroine. Lucas is a savvy, intelligent, hard-working businessman. He wants the best product possible, so he goes directly to the source to make sure its pure (Vietnam). Then he sells his product, which is better than the competition's, for a lower price. He creates a virtual heroine monopoly. In comes Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), a clean, honest cop who is trying to take down the drug trade in New Jersey. But Lucas is smart, so it will take some brilliant work to catch him.

Lucas lives the American Dream. He works hard to make a name for himself. He gets rich, he becomes a figure looked up to in the community, and he provides a comfortable life for his family. He buys a beautiful home for his mother, gives his wife everything she wants, and provides lucrative jobs for his brothers. But American Gangster can be seen as a scathing indictment of the American Dream. The only thing that separates Lucas from everyone else who we look up to as a hero for the American Dream is the fact that his product is heroine, and that's illegal. He also has an extremely cutthroat way of going about business (ie. shooting his rivals on the street, in broad daylight at a crowded market), but think about the way other legitimate businesses go about what they do. I am not saying big business is evil, but greed is, and that is what drives many, many people in the business world. You have to be greedy to be good. Plus, as is pointed out by one character in the film, success equals enemies. If you want to have friends, don't be successful. Business is business, so let us examine how we do business. Let us see that people like Frank Lucas can exist outside of crime rings. Let us understand that God desires us to do business and participate with businesses that act with integrity, with honesty. And most of all, let us not buy into the American Dream completely and wholly. We all want a nice life, we all want to provide for our families. But at what cost? There is more to life than success, something Lucas did not realize. His pride is what drove him, and pride can be a very costly thing.
Who are our heroes? Why are they our heroes?

Crowe's Roberts is also a multifaceted character. One day in court, while he and his wife are battling over the custody of their children, Roberts' wife says that he thinks there are two kinds of honesty. You see, Roberts does the right thing at his job (especially when it comes to not taking money on the side), and is proud of that. But on the flip side he has abandoned his wife and son. He is, in effect, living two lives. He sees himself as an honest man because of one life, but the other life he is leading is destructive. Roberts fails to realize that good men live (or at least try to live) honestly all the time, it's a holistic thing.

"Everyone else does it, why shouldn't I?" This is an argument that usually comes up with younger people, and may be seen as immature. Yet, this is the line of reasoning the vast majority of the cops in New York at the time use to justify their taking of bribes. In fact, not only do they take bribes but they mistrust anyone who turns money in instead of keeping it (which is exactly what Roberts does near the beginning of the film). We all know that argument is ridiculous, yet we all use it from time to time. But in the end, God knows everyone's actions, and everyone's hearts. He knows. We all have a responsibility to stand up and do the right thing, regardless of what those around us are doing. Even if corruption runs deep, justice will come whether in this life or the next (which is a scary thought).

So where does American Gangster fit into the lexicon of Mobster cinema? In my humble opinion, no other sub-genre has turned out so many fantastic films over the years (On The Waterfront, Donnie Brasco, The Departed, Road to Perdition, Goodfellas, Snatch, Once Upon A Time in America and of course the great Godfather films; the list goes on and on). Scott adds another fine chapter to an already stunning collection. The film is brutal when it needs to be. It paints its protagonist in a horrific yet idealistic light. It brings us face to face with questions about who we are as individuals and as a country. At one point in the film Lucas talks about how he will not leave, he will not surrender, he will not back down, even after people try to kill him: "This is my home. My country. Frank Lucas don't run from nobody. This is America." The film is aptly titled. This is America. So who are we as a nation? And what is our American Dream?

This is a beautiful story we can all relate to, especially men. We want to provide as much as we can for those we love, we want people to look up to us, and we want to be important. So do we want to be Frank Lucas?