Today’s quick review: Mean Streets. Charlie (Harvey Keitel) spends his time collecting debts for his Uncle Giovanni (Cesare Danova), handing out with his friends at Tony’s (David Proval) bar, and dating Teresa (Amy Robinson). The only person holding him back is his deadbeat friend Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro), who Charlie tries to keep out of trouble. But their friendship is put to the test when Michael (Richard Romanus) calls in Johnny’s debt.
Mean Streets is a crime drama from director Martin Scorsese. Harvey Keitel stars as Charlie, a young man torn between his own prospects and his loyalty to an irresponsible friend. Mean Streets is unusual for the crime genre in that it has very little to do with ambition or a specific crime. Instead, the film focuses on its characters, painting a realistic portrait of Charlie’s life that includes good times as well as conflicts and setbacks.
Mean Streets’ bread and butter are the spirited antics of Charlie and his friends. Their nights are filled with drinking, carousing, and grifting, skirting the boundaries of the law without doing anything too malicious. Charlie makes for a likable character, a loyal friend and a born peacemaker who nevertheless has a few rough edges. And unlike the protagonists in other crime dramas, Charlie remains a grounded, credible character throughout.
Much of the film’s drama comes from Johnny Boy and his refusal to take responsibility for his actions. Robert De Niro plays a frustratingly convincing Johnny, whose cocky attitude and barrage of excuses land him deeper and deeper in trouble, dragging Charlie down with him. Johnny weaves in and out of the story sporadically, sowing tension wherever he appears. The dynamic between him and Charlie is one of Mean Streets’ best features.
But in spite of its strong character work, Mean Streets has comparatively little to offer in the way of plot. The story focuses on Charlie’s life to the exclusion of all else, passing up several promising plot threads in favor of more carousing and the occasional encounter with Johnny. Nor does the film have the same appeal as a biography: the story is narrow in scope and takes place over the course of a few days.
Overall, Mean Streets is a solid entry into the crime genre that will appeal to those who are more interested in the characters and the lifestyle than the schemes and power plays. How much you get out of the film will come down to taste. Those who are interested in characters for their own sake will find Mean Streets to be quite rewarding. Those who prefer tightly scripted stories with clear trajectories may want to look elsewhere.
For a farther-reaching crime drama from the same director, try Goodfellas. For another character-oriented crime drama, try Donnie Brasco. For a movie with a similar blend of hedonism and misfortune, try Saturday Night Fever.
7.3 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for impressive character work balanced by an unfocused plot.