The Element of Surprise

Almost two decades later, GoodFellas is starting to show its age.

Scorsese's mob masterpiece is raw, dirty emotion. And in 1990, there was nothing like it. Previous gangster pics portrayed a romanticized glorification of the mafia. A mobster's ascension and subsequent demise is as an integral storytelling element in cinema history as are tales of vampires and werewolves.

Simply put, mob movies became formulaic a long time ago.

The framework, first established in the Warner Bros. films of the early 30's (The Public Enemy, Little Caesar), invigorated audience interest and fueled their curiosity of the criminal underworld. Hollywood responded, replacing song and dance numbers by Astaire with number running by Cagney. Later the two were married in the balletic bullet wounds of Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde in 1967.

Then in 1972, Francis Ford Coppola brought Mario Puzo's best seller to the screen. The Godfather wiped out lower level thugs with the majestic brutality of the Corleone Family. Operatic in nature, epic in scope, yet intimate in character development, The Godfather redefined criminal elegance and established Al Pacino's Michael Corleone as the genre's quintessential tragic figure.

Pacino then later went all ballistic lunacy in De Palma's Scarface. The movie ushered in the 80's with mountains of cocaine illuminated in the glitter and gloss of discos and synthesizers...not to mention really big fucking guns. In Tony Montana, the severity of criminal consequence was replaced with the wreckless abandon of the Tazmanian Devil. The gangster picture had become an R-Rated cartoon.

But with GoodFellas, Scorsese stripped thievery down to its petty core: $$$. For his mobsters the bottom line was the bottom line and anyone in the way got out of the way...voluntarily or forcibly. Violence becomes a matter of fact. So much so that premeditation is more an annoyance than a necessity ("Maybe no one told you, but I don't do shines no more.") These sudden bursts of violence followed immediately by macabre one-liners ("I'm a good shot, whaddya want?") defined modern day black comedy; it's influence seen all over the backseat of Jules and Vincent's car.

However, as inspiring as the film has been to countless filmmakers (David Chase) and film lovers (Charles Warner), the movie's success is highly reliant on its element of surprise. And in that regard, GoodFellas no longer works.

Chew on this list for a few seconds:

• Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)
• Menace II Society (Albert and Allen Hughes)
• Pulp Fiction (Tarantino)
• Casino (Scorsese)
• Swingers (Doug Liman)
• Fargo (Joel and Ethan Coen)
• Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)
• Go (Liman)
• The Sopranos (David Chase)
• Blow (Ted Demme)
• The Departed (Scorsese)

All of the above have been released since 1992; the GoodFellas foot print clearly embedded in each. Focus on the way P T Anderson bleeds one scene into the next, propelling the story as if it were on coke. Experience the jolts of violence and character commentary in any of Tarnantino's films.

Credit in large part goes to Thelma Schoonmaker's slop editing and Michael Ballhaus' bravura photography. Paired with Scorsese's deft blend of pop music and violence, GoodFellas helped create new out of old. Scorsese wasn't the first to do it, but he did it in a way that felt fresh. The films and filmmakers that followed mirrored this equation to success in differing degrees.

And may be that's why I'm left with such an empty response to a film that for so many years I called my favorite. The flood of filmmakers that worshipped at Scorsese's alter have either watered down the film's blueprint or have completely improved upon it. Without hesitation I'd argue that The Sopranos is and will continue to be the highest quality examination of society's criminal element. That's of course like comparing apples to oranges. Chase has had 10 years to explore the depths of gangster psychosis. Scorsese had just two and half hours.

Regardless, not much humanity can be found behind the finger pulling the trigger. Repeated viewings will reveal blemishes in the film's technical proficiency. And beneath this surface of low down grime and grit, shallow waters reveal little depth. Neither of which diminishes from the film's continued influence.

I just don't need to watch GoodFellas again for a long, long time to get that.