Mean Streets

I know, I know. I've been slacking. Hell, I haven't updated this thing in.... what, 3 weeks? Well, guess what, I've been busy so BACK OFF, MAN!*... Mhm... sorry 'bout that. What I meant to say was: I decided to do an easier review today. What makes this so easy? Well, for one, it's Scorsese. That means most anyone will have a good idea what I mean when I use the phrase, "That Scorsese flare." Secondly, I think I know exactly what I want to say about this movie. It is still really fresh in my mind.

Mean Streets is, of course, the movie that made Scorsese so noteworthy. And why not? In a lot of ways, it marks the beginnings of a lot of Scorsese methods. Most notably, it includes his first pairing with the always-excellent Robert DeNiro. For those of you who don't know, these two guys have worked together roughly 800 times through their career. They really do great together, too. DeNiro is one of the greatest actors, Scorsese one of the greatest directors. Both of them have been in one movie you like. If that isn't true, you have bad taste and should GET AWAY FROM MY BLOG!!!!

Well, here's the thing about that: Mean Streets is definitely a performance-driven movie. DeNiro and Harvey Keitel both shine in their performances as the two buddies at the center of all the crap going on (and believe me, there is plenty of crap going on). They really feed off of each other's energy, delivering each well-written line with ease and in such a natural way that you think that Scorsese grabbed a camera and said, "Go." Really really good.

Also well done is Scorsese's ability to capture a certain feel in his films. His use of classic rock and soul music has always been a part of this, as has his knack for being able to edit appropriately. A really cool sequence has a camera stuck on Keitel's face as he walks around a bar, completely drunk. Scorsese just has that.. you know, that flare. Also, he manages to strike a fine balance between light-hearted and heavy-handed moments. Sometimes within seconds the film transitions between these feelings.

See? He's about to shoot someone, but he's smiling!

So what's the problem? What's not to like? Well, Scorsese was so wrapped up in getting the feeling of little Italy across, he totally forgot to put narrative in the film. Half the time, you might be wondering what exactly is going on. Sometimes, you'll probably wonder about the relevance of the scene. Certainly once or twice, you'll kind of wonder what the point of all of this is. If not, then you probably read more into than me, in which case, maybe you should start a blog! (DO IT!) I just found this to create an inconsistency that gave the movie an almost... er, disjointed(?) feel. Just really flimsy, you know what I mean?

Also, and maybe this is more of a personal gripe, but I foun myself really dissatisfied with the ending. I don't mind sudden, open-ended conclusions to movies, but this one really didn't do it for me. The story and the conflicts didn't feel as if they had come to a proper conclusion. No one really did anything of significance. As a result, this movie probably left me with a bad taste in my mouth that made me think it is worse than it actually is.

Overall - 6. Good for seeing the roots of Scorsese's trademark style, but he clearly is still not 100% familiar with what makes a great movie. It is a worthy view, though.

* - EDIT: Should have said, "Lazy." Oh darn.