Once Upon A Time In America Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1984

Sergio Leone, one of the most skilled and influential Italian directors to have ever lived, released his crime epic Once Upon A Time In America in 1984. The story revolves around five childhood friends that enter the dangerous world of bootlegging, murder and the mob, and spans three periods of their lives ranging from the early 1900's and culminating in the late 1960's.

Some have argued that this was Leone's greatest masterpiece, but those are strong words when you consider Leone was responsible for classic spaghetti westerns such as Once Upon A Time In The West and Fistful of Dollars. In the Feature Attraction we'll look at just how powerful Leone's final epic truly was.

David "Noodles" Aaronson (Robert De Niro), Maximilian "Max" Bercovicz (James Woods), Philip "Cockeye" Stein (William Forsythe), Patrick "Patsy" Goldberg (James Hayden) and "Fat" Moe Gelly (Larry Rapp) were five Jewish boys that grew up on the tough streets of New York around the turn of the century, at which time the mob's power and influence was taking hold. The first four of those named above decided to enter the life of crime during their adolescent years, while Gelly would be responsible for saving the illicit proceeds.

When the boys start muscling their way into a mob's territory too much, one of them is brutally gunned down. Noodles goes berserk and stabs the gunman to death, earning himself a sizeable stint in the slammer, and the film flashes forward to the 1930's.

Noodles has just been released from prison, and he discovers that while he's been away Max, Cockeye and Patsy have built up a formidable criminal enterprise. He is quickly reintroduced to his place in the criminal organization and given his share of the earnings that accrued during his incarceration.

But although his friends are still fiercely loyal, things have begun to change. Over the years new mob families have intermixed with the original friends' band, much to the dismay of Noodles. Max wants to take his ambition to the next level via use of other power mobsters; Noodles is perfectly content with where they already stand and doesn't wish to break up the solid band of friends.

The 1968 period of the film is primarily one of sadness and reflection, as Noodles looks back on his life and revisits multiple tragedies. There is more to this period of time, but I won't go into it since it's a pretty significant plot twist that leads to one of the odder endings in cinematic history.

From the very moment Once Upon A Time In America opens Sergio Leone takes our breath away with his masterful cinematography and sense of style. Equally stunning are the performances by Robert De Niro, James Woods and everyone else associated with the film. Some actors such as Burt Young, Joe Pesci, Elizabeth McGovern and Treat Williams didn't possess a large quantity of screen time, but their presence strengthened this crime tapestry nonetheless.

It should be noted that this epic drama takes an unflinching look into the world of crime, showcasing extremely graphic murders, rapes and other nastiness. This content couldn't be considered gratuitous since it matches its unyielding subject matter well, but sensitive viewers will probably want to avert their eyes during a few choice scenes.

Noodles is the backbone of Once Upon A Time In America; it is through his eyes that we visit the various scenes of the past. De Niro was more than up for the challenge, and proves again that he is one of the best actors to have ever graced the big screen, but while his performance is mesmerizing to watch, his character is not exactly likeable. Noodles performs acts and crimes that would make any decent person recoil, and this helps lend the film a very gritty and dark tone. Crime and gangsters are not sensationalized in Leone's vision… they are cast in the ugly light they deserve.

Although there is no doubt Once Upon A Time In America is an epic, and I'd even go so far as to say a masterpiece, it isn't without its flaws. The first criticism that can be levied against the film is the manner in which the three timelines are laid; Leone dismissed the notion of setting the events in chronological order in favor of establishing a distinctive style and flavor. (Note: The studio did force the original cinematic release to follow a chronological order – this review is based off the director's cut of the film.)

Viewers will be able to follow the happenings of the film even with the events jumping from past to present, but the opening scenes will be difficult to follow until later scenes help to better define the occurrences. Some viewers won't mind this in the least; others will find their patience tested a bit until they reach the point of understanding, which can be quite some time later since the film runs for nearly 4 hours.

The only other potential criticism is the film's deliberately slower pace. I never actually grew bored while watching Once Upon A Time In America, but this is a very lengthy film that sometimes focuses a bit too much on the daily everyday events and conversations shared between the characters. Viewers that enjoy character-driven films will probably not mind this in the least, while those looking for almost non-stop mafia action along the lines of Goodfellas may find some of this film to be tiresome.

Once Upon A Time In America ended Sergio Leone's long and respectable career on a very positive note. Those who enjoy crime or mafia films would do well to set aside just under four hours of their time to experience this rich and layered masterpiece.

Movie rating: 9 stars

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