Ridley Scott, American Gangster

by Kathryn Durfee
11/03/2007

Pay attention, business majors. In the 1970s, Frank Lucas became the new Godfather of Harlem with a foolproof business plan. He cut out the middle man by buying his product direct from the source. He bought only the highest quality product. And he sold it for half the price of his competition. By selling a product twice as good but half as expensive as his competitors, he developed a monopoly through simple economics rather than bloody turf wars. His product? Heroin.

When Bumpy Johnson, the head gangster in Harlem, dies, his loyal driver Frank Lucas (Denzel Washinton) sets out to ensure that all debts are collected in memory of his late boss. Fifteen years of working under Bumpy has taught Lucas well. He is ruthless, intelligent, and has gleaned the secrets of how to be the boss from both Bumpy and their dealings with the Italian families. Seeing the growing popularity and profit potential of heroin, Lucas contacts a cousin stationed in Bangkok to get the hook up. Lucas wants an enormous quantity at the best quality, so he journeys up-river to visit the drug lords. They are impressed, and as a result give Lucas an exclusive contract. The bricks will be transported into the United States in the coffins of dead soldiers. Morbid and unethical, but hey, this is the drug business.

When Lucas's product, Blue Magic, hits the streets, it's an enormous success. Lucas becomes the ultimate gangster: he owns clubs, socializes with sports and entertainment stars, marries a beauty queen, and purchases a mansion for his family. He dresses like a Brooks Brothers model, he is generous to the people of Harlem, and he takes his mother to church every Sunday. However, he stays out of the deals, keeping his hands somewhat clean. After his initial trip to Bangkok, everything runs smoothly through the hands of his four brothers and many cousins.

Because of the nature of his lifestyle, it takes a long time for the cops to catch on to him. For one thing, most of the cops are corrupted and are dealing the drugs out of the evidence room back to the gangsters for a little piece of the profit. In addition, neither the cops nor the Italians can believe that a black man could rise to such power, stealing the heroin trade of Harlem right out from under them. It is not until Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) enters the picture that Frank Lucas becomes a target.

Roberts is a black sheep of the police office in that he has morals. Upon finding one million dollars in unmarked bills, he turned it in rather than splitting it with the boys. Since no one wants to work with him, he gathers a team of street-smart individuals and sets out to bring in the behemoths of the drug trade. He doesn't want to waste time with any small busts; he's going for the kings. Roberts finally catches on to Lucas and vows to bring him in. He succeeds, but it takes awhile to map out the far-stretching fingers of the Lucas family business.

American Gangster is not just another mob movie. It is instead a detailed look at the lives of two intelligent men. Lucas and Roberts, placed side-by-side, illustrate a paradox. While Lucas is a loving son, brother, cousin, husband, etc., he's running an illegal empire. On the other hand, Roberts' personal life is in shambles -- he's battling with his ex-wife for custody of his son, he's a womanizer, and he associates with known criminals -- but he consistently tries to do the right thing when it comes to his police work.

Though the action of the film appears to lead to a final bloody shootout, it instead culminates in a civilized conversation between these two characters. It is interesting to note that these two acting giants, Crowe and Washington, only appear in the same frame in the last act of the film. Lucas is facing a lifetime sentence, but strikes a deal with Roberts. He agrees to "snitch" on all the dirty cops, fulfilling Robert's personal vendetta against the immorality of the police force, and lessening his sentence.

Gangster has had a tough time making it to the screen. Producer Brian Grazer first bought the rights to the New York Magazine story by Mark Jacobson in 2000. The film was slated to be directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and to star Denzel Washington and Benicio del Toro. The project fell apart when the budget exploded to over $100 million. Ridley Scott was considered, but passed in order to work on Kingdom of Heaven. However, Grazer once again offered the script to Scott last year. Scott signed on, luring Crowe to the project as well. Washington's interests were peaked by the prospect of working with Crowe, and thus, a blockbuster was born.

Crowe plays his Roberts like a bulldog, fearless and determined. He stays under the radar, studying for a law degree and gathering evidence for his case. In contrast, Washington's Lucas is calm, wears a stern gaze, and appears to have mastered the swagger of a kingpin. He even has the confidence to shoot an enemy on a crowded sidewalk in broad daylight. Those, my friends, are some serious cahones.

Gangster was penned by Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian (Gangs of New York, Schindler's List, A Civil Action, among many others). The story is told well without any superfluous fluff. The film runs at 2 hours and 40 minutes, but the story is so engrossing and the characters so interesting that the length does not drain the audience. Gangster has about an hour's worth of exposition, but it serves to illustrate who Lucas is and how he eluded the cops for so long. Cinematographer Harris Savides is behind the camera, and though he has not worked with Scott in the past, Gangster's gritty realism and appropriate use of a hand-held camera recall Black Hawk Down and Gladiator.

In the end, Gangster is about two men. It's less of a mob movie than a tale of a corrupt business, but will satisfy fans of both genres nonetheless. With two Academy Award-winning stars and an equally-accomplished director, there was little doubt surrounding the quality of the film. I only wish I could see it for the first time again.