The Many Saints of Newark
The prequel to the famous show “The Sopranos” leaves us all with one question, where was Tony Soprano?
Would ya look at that, it’s Dickie Moltasanti.
It’s no question that The Sopranos stands as one of the greatest television shows of all time and most likely started the era of anti-heroes in television. 22 years later since the original release of The Sopranos, we were sure we were destined for a real cinematic treat with the back story on how Tony Soprano became the made man he was, false. Rid yourself of all expectations you had for this movie based on the trailer, this movie serves as an origin story for the inspiration of Tony’s uncle, Dickie Moltisanti. While it was cool learning who Christopher Moltisanti’s father is and how it created a bond for Chris and Tony years ahead, we were lead astray with the trailer we saw. Everyone walked into the theater excited to see The Sopranos, not the Moltisanti’s.
The plot is simple, Dickie Moltisanti is witnessing the times changing in Newark, New Jersey and facing all challenges with rival gangsters and the infamous DiMeo mob family. But in the eye of the storm stands a young Tony Soprano who idolizes his Uncle Dickie, the man whose actions are slowly shaping the soon to be the boss of the crime family we all know and love. David Chase was given a pen and the ink that spilled on to the paper 22 years ago is still relevant today, the man spoiled us with 6 seasons of amazing storytelling. But to sit and watch this movie for two hours, I felt led astray. While the movie gives Soprano lovers a feel-good aspect watching the supporting cast from the television show get their shine, it was the story that threw us all off along with the pacing. If this film never came out, we would still have the amazing memories and love from the original show. I love David Chase’s work but maybe him and Lawrence Konner developed a serious case of writer’s block and kept writing anyway.
The movie itself is funny and interesting to see the backstory for supporting characters like the beloved Uncle Junior and how he developed back pains, Silvio, and his weird hair piece, and how Paulie Walnuts was probably born a made man and slapped the doctor for taking too long to get him out of his nine-month bid. On a brighter note, the acting was superb from the cast. Michael Gandolfini does a great job portraying his father, James Gandolfini, character Tony Soprano for the small screen time he had. Tell Uncle Junior his acting was good enough for varsity. Vera Farmiga playing Livia Soprano has those same nagging qualities of the original and really hit home for all of us who remember her from the show. The best and funniest performances had to come from Alessandro Nicola (Dickie), Billy Magnussen (Paulie), and John Magaro (Silvio). Watching a younger version of Paulie and Silvio was exclusively for your entertainment, and I would even pay money to watch a show about the two of them and their quarrels in life.
See the thing about Tony Soprano, he wasn’t always bad. At one point, there was a sign of hope and a twinkle in his eye towards life and what it could be. A hopeful young man lost in the world who found meaning in life through his family’s criminal eyes.
One strange thing about the movie is that somehow this took a turn from being a movie about the Italian mob family to becoming a black and white feud in how Newark New Jersey is slowly changing. Many were unsure about how Frank Lucas was tied into this and why a heavy hitter from the other side of town, Harold McBrayer (Leslie Odom Jr.), tied into the downfall of Dickie Moltisanti. But it stuck with the story and its continuity, especially when it came down to the aspect of betrayal. One more thing I’d like to point out is that this movie is not pleasing to the eye cinematically. It’s as if the colorist of the film forgot to spray Windex on the final copy of the film so the audience wouldn’t have to strain their eyes for two hours. I do get it though, they tried to give it that back in the day nostalgic look to it, but in my opinion, they failed to make it look it’s best. The Many Saints of Newark may be blurry but that’s okay because it matches the score of the movie, a solid 6/10 is awarded to this prequel of the Jersey crime family. If you really love The Sopranos, give it a watch. If you kind of love The Sopranos, keep your love for the original show and just forget about the origin story.
