Today’s quick review: Once Upon a Time in America. Thirty-five years after leaving New York, David “Noodles” Aaronson (Robert De Niro) returns to the Jewish neighborhood where he grew up. There he reminisces about his youth, his lost love Deborah (Elizabeth McGovern), and the gang he once ran with three of his friends (James Woods, William Forsythe, and James Hayden). But more than anything, he mourns the events that brought it all to an end.
Once Upon a Time in America is a historical crime drama from director Sergio Leone. The movie splits its time between Noodles’ childhood, his criminal career in Prohibition-era New York, and his belated return home in the late 1960s. Once Upon a Time in America is an ambitious tale of criminal enterprise and regret held together by Leone’s precise direction. However, its slow pacing and dark subject matter hurt the film’s emotional payoff.
Once Upon a Time in America has an impressive dramatic toolkit. The movie has a knack for saying a lot with a few words and letting the audience fill in the gaps. Leone lingers on carefully chosen moments that capture the mental states of the characters, while sober performances from De Niro and a broad supporting cast set the tone quite well. The story covers plenty of ground, a broadly scoped crime drama with elements of tragedy and mystery.
How the movie applies its talents is more dubious. Once Upon a Time in America is a bleak movie whose characters do nothing to soften the blow. Noodles and his friends are unrepentant criminals with only a modicum of the glamor and charm typically seen in crime epics. Their victories are hard to rejoice in, their setbacks are deserved, and the moral ambiguity of the film works better as an intellectual exercise than an emotional dimension.
More broadly, Once Upon a Time in America has a hard time managing its pacing. The same slow, deliberate pacing that makes its scenes engaging makes it hard for the film to build up tension. The questions set up early in the film turn stale before they’re answered, while the clever story hooks of the film’s last half-hour come too late to build up any anticipation. The result is a story with good pieces that are assembled in the wrong order.
How much you get out of Once Upon a Time in America will depend heavily on taste. Those who are in it for its cinematography, its acting, and its gritty depiction of Prohibition-era New York will find that the film has everything it needs. Its high level of craftsmanship, impressive scope, and serious treatment of its subject matter make it worth a watch for those interested in what it has to offer.
But viewers who are looking for likable characters, a tight plot, or a clear emotional arc will not get as much out of the film. For the right viewer, Once Upon a Time in America is a well-rounded classic that accomplishes a lot in its nearly four-hour run time. For the wrong viewer, it will be a taxing and unrewarding watch whose payoff isn’t worth the investment required. Drama aficionados should try it; all others should steer clear.
For a crime drama of similar scope and craftsmanship, try The Godfather trilogy. For another biography-style crime drama starring Robert De Niro, try Casino or Goodfellas. For a glimpse further into the past of New York’s criminal underworld, try Gangs of New York.
8.4 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for high all-around craftsmanship channeled into a story that doesn’t hit the mark; your score will vary considerably.