Gangs of New York (2002)
I like westerns and the period around the American civil war, so it was interesting to see that time period taking place in the city of New York. The basic plot even resembles many westerns with a big gang lord killing a rival in front of his son and that son coming back for revenge years later. However that is barely half of what is going on here against the historic backdrop of conscription and politics of the time.
America’s very violent history is good movie material, but with this also a bit frustrating because I found it to be a bit unfocused. I was more interested in all the stuff that happened in the background than the main characters played by DiCaprio and Day-Lewis. There were definetely times when in dragged a bit with its long running time, but it makes up for it with some spectacular individual scenes - especially the beginning and the end.
Rating: 3