Once Upon a Time in America

I love trolling the discount bins at Newbury Comics and other stores that sell DVDs, because you never know what sort of fun treasures you’ll find for very little money.

Case in point:  I recently came across Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America.  I had heard of this film but had never seen it, so I looked the DVD over.  An over three-hour gangster epic, starring Robert DeNiro and James Woods?  Sign me up!

Originally released in 1984, Leone’s sprawling tale covers about 50 years in the lives of a group of Jewish friends, from their days growing up on the streets on the Lower East Side, to their rise through the ranks of the New York City underworld to, of course, the eventual tragedies that usually end these sorts of crime stories.  The film was received poorly upon its release in the States, probably because the studio took Leone’s lengthy epic and severely truncated it — not only cutting out enormous swaths of footage but also removing Leone’s intricate narrative structure of flashbacks within flashbacks, and instead presenting the film linearly.  This DVD presents a restored version of Leone’s 229 minute cut (although the disc’s special features refer to extensive additional footage that Leone considered “essential” and yet was not included in this version).

Although he might portray the least convincing on-screen Jew since Elijah Wood in Everything is Illuminated (although that’s not a knock against Wood’s powerful performance in that vastly underrated movie!), Robert DeNiro creates a fascinating character in his portrayal of the man nicknamed Noodles.  Throughout his life, Noodles struggles to balance his sharp intelligence with his more violent impulses, and his ambition with his limited worldview.  Time after time, most of Noodles’ choices are defined in association with, and sometimes in contrast to, his close friend Max, played by James Woods.  From their very first meeting as kids, the two share a tight bond as well as a fierce rivalry, and much of the power of Once Upon a Time in America comes from the examination  of their relationship over the course of their lives.  

Just as New York City was a major character in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (about which I wrote yesterday) so too is the essence of New York  an important element in the tone of this film.  The gorgeous sets and locations, combined with Leone’s direction, create a compelling picture of old New York.  The film’s title puts one in the mind of a fairy tale, and perhaps this film’s picture of life in the Lower East Side has equal footing in both reality and fantasy.  (Having not lived there during the time-period of the film, I can’t really say for sure!)  But either way, the image of New York that Leone creates is a beautiful, haunting one.  Much has been made, in books and in films, about the positives and negatives of life in the Jewish areas of the Lower East Side, and Once Upon a Time in America manages to present both aspects.  On the one hand, the movie seems to be rather nostalgic about life in those neighborhoods, showing, for example, how the entire community shuts down so that everyone can head to shul.  On the other hand, the main characters of the story are the young boys who feel disconnected from that community and so turn to other, less legal pursuits, as their life’s work.

If I have a complaint about the film, it is its length.  Now, I have no problems with a long movie — if fact, I find that I tend to prefer the epic scope of a good three-hour film!  But Once Upon a Time in America is a film that sure takes its sweet time in telling its story.   The first 30 minutes are particularly challenging.  It is apparent that the film is opening with what is, in fact, the end of the story, so an attentive viewer will have no doubt that flashbacks are coming.  But it takes quite some time — almost a half-hour! — for those flashbacks to arrive, and for the real story of movie to begin.  There is also a somewhat punishing early sequence that involves the ringing of a telephone overlaid over a variety of images.  The idea is that the sound of the phone ringing reminds DeNiro’s character of a pivotal decision that he made earlier in his life, and that is our entry-point into the flashback structure of the film.  In theory, a terrific idea.  In execution, we hear that damn phone ring over and over again for long minutes on end, and it’s rather tough to sit through!

But once the film takes us back to meet young Noodles and Max up to no good on the streets of New York City, the movie kicks into gear.  The storytelling remains, shall we say, leisurely paced, but I quickly found myself caught up in the story of Noodles, Max, and their friends.  There is a fine collection of actors in supporting roles: Elizabeth McGovern as Noodles’ life-long love Deborah, Danny Aiello, Joe Pesci (though don’t be fooled by the prominent listing of his name on the DVD box art — he’s only in one scene!), Tuesday Weld, and others.  I should also mention a very young Jennifer Connelly, who gives a great performance in one of her first on-screen roles as Deborah in the early flashback scenes.  (Viewer morality alert: there’s one risque moment involving young Deborah that — whew! — the special features clarify involved another (older) actress’ bum.)

In the sub-genre of American gangster movies, there are some towering works that this film does not equal.  Nevertheless, it is a compelling addition to that fine group of films.  If you enjoy a good crime story, and if you have some patience (and a comfy couch), there’s a lot here to be enjoyed.