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The story centres around a drug kingpin called Frank Lucas (Washington), a hoodlum who's business accumen and cuthroat ambition gave him monopoly over Harlem's crack cocaine supply during the late 1960's and early 1970's. Lucas cut expenses by going straight to the source, shipping tonnes of unadulterated crack home from Vietnam, concealed in the coffins of dead American servicemen. Furthermore he is an African-American who has out manoeuvred and out muscled the traditionally white organisations - the Mafia - that have historically dominated the drugs trade.
At its heart, the film deals with questions of morality. Lucas is a psychopath, a violent nutcase who shoots dead a rival in broad daylight on a Harlem street corner, yet he is faithful to his wife and loves his family. Det. Richie Roberts (Russel Crowe), the police officer chosen to catch him, is his opposite; an exemplary professional, one of the few NYPD vice squad members not tainted by drug addiction or corruption whose personal life is a shambles with a child custody battle raging and a new floozy to share his bed with each night. Unfortunately, this battle between vice and virtue is not presented forcefully enough, making the film a less satisfying experience than it might have been.
We know that Denzel can play the bad guy as well as anyone yet here, he fails to convince. The best gangsters, like James Gandolfini in The Sopranos, Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco et al manage the trick of being deranged and violent, yet weirdly likeable with a moral core. Complex characters like these blur the distinction between good and evil, making us question the belief in our own humanity. In American Gangster, Washington is like an autmoton, cool to the point of rigidity. He struts around in a zoot suit, blowing people away but giving us no real emotional or psychological clue as to why. While commendable, his love of family is completely overshadowed by the brutality of his actions. Russel Crowe is excellent in his role as the morally upright nemesis, gaining audience sympathy and respect in equal measure. With such big names and a director of superb pedigree this should be a knockout, but as a whole the film does not go far enough beyond the traditional cops and robbers formula to really make an impact.
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