Gangsta on 'Gangster'

Russel Crowe (JDot) and Denzel Washington (GDub) star in Rags to Rags: The Yeah, I Figured Chronicles.

FITCHBURG, WI - Ridley Scott's American Gangster is more concerned with 'branding' than 'hustling.' Frank Lucas created an entrepreneurial heroin empire by eliminating the middle man, flying directly to Bangkok and negotiating first hand for exclusive US sales rights. In doing so he cultivated a product better and cheaper than the competition. He coined it 'blue magic' and with it came piles and piles of green. But Lucas had no concern with the flamboyancy that accompanies the criminal lifestyle. His focus was in controlling each aspect of the heroin assembly line. From production to pricing to availability, the ghetto roll-out of blue magic could have easily served as the perfect campaign from which aspiring business persons could model their own.

Like Lucas, director Scott seems more fascinated with the procedure than it's effects. Even in the film's more extravagant scenes of celebration, Lucas is squarely focused on maintaining the bottom line. Whether it be by quietly providing a coaster for a rival's drink, or using a thug's head to fine tune his piano, his control is maintained. Denzel's masterful manipulation of charm, resolve, and thoroughness is on full display here. He's matched with Russel Crowe's Richie Robbins - a cop who's honesty anchor is firmly rooted amongst a sea of bribery and corruption. These are two great performances from two of our greatest actors.

Much has been made about their face-off towards the end of the film. Like De Niro and Pacino in Michael Mann's ultimate cops and criminals epic, Heat, or Tarantino's Kill Bill confrontation, the meeting is a collision of words, not fists, done over a coffee table, not in a ring.

This is a great film.

(Of note: I saw this film with co-conspirator, Hennessy at a local mulit-plex in a predominantly white suburb of Madison. However given it's close proximity toward Madison's South side neighborhoods, management felt the need to have armed sheriffs checking ticket stubs along with pimply-faced white bred ushers.

We found this entire spectacle quite humorous, but relevant to the continued segregation that plagues cities like Madison, who pride themselves on diversity as long as it's contained.)

(Of note, Part II: Readers beware! This film is not about the real life story of Yeah, I Figured's, Gangsta Warner as previously reported some months back. Apparently the filmmakers felt the almost 3 hour run time would better service one gangster's methodical precision over an other's incessant second guesses. The only similarity here is that they're both very neat.)