Screening Log, November 2007

American Gangster
USA / 2007

Such a flawless ensemble, from Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington to Ruby Dee, Ted Levine, and Josh Brolin, makes this a worthwhile exercise in performance over screenplay. Steven Zaillian’s script is good, yes, but evokes Goodfellas far too much. (In fact, the similarities are uncomfortably eerie.) Still, American Gangster has the best closing shot of any film I’ve seen this year, period.

by Adam Balz | Source: 35MM Theatrical Print
16 Nov 2007 2:25 PM | Comments (3)


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  1. Dennis
    16 November 2007
    4:14 PM

    What did you like so much about the closing shot?


  2. Adam B.
    19 November 2007
    7:00 AM
    Website

    It’s this great, motionless, dialogue-free moment in which Frank Lucas realizes the world he’s being released into has changed; the city he once controlled, the city that used to revere his name, has managed to live on without him. And, for the first time, Frank Lucas seems outwardly vulnerable. Ridley Scott could easily have offered us a close-up of curious eyes or a long monologue about fifteen year’s-worth of transformation, but doesn’t; Lucas stands smaller on screen that he has ever before, buried in the loud, gray blur of New York City.


  3. Roena W
    21 November 2007
    5:00 AM

    that’s such a pertinent observation of that closing sequence, i couldnt agree more, although overall i feel the film could have been a bit better.


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November 2007 activity

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