It’s been a long time since I’ve written a film review. During the pandemic I watched a new film everyday starting from the 1920s all the way up to today. Realistically, I would’ve never watched Nosferatu otherwise.
I was recently so negatively moved by a film that I felt the need to write this review.
To cut to the chase, I watched The Many Saints of Newark last night. Earlier this week, I finally finished The Sopranos after 3 months, and was looking forward to enjoying some of the overflow content from the show (i.e. interviews, award speeches, behind the scenes documentary).
One piece in particular - The Many Saints of Newark
The film is marketed as the origin story of Tony Soprano, with the late James Gandolfini’s son, Michael, playing young Tony.
False advertising. We’ll get into that in just a moment.
I’ve heard a few negative things about the film, so I did my best to go into it with an open mind but I left feeling swindled and cheated.
Let’s get into my qualms. I have 2.
CASTING
I can’t move forward without addressing the fact that the actor who portrays “young” Livia Soprano, played by Vera Farmiga, looks exactly like “present” Tony’s wife, Carmela, played by Edie Falco. Here’s a side by side I found.
If you’ve seen The Soprano’s you know Tony has mommy issues. It’s fine, we all do to some extent. Carmela looks eerily similar to his mother, Livia, reinforcing the desire for his mother’s love.
I get it.
But it’s almost too similar. My first thought was that they shared a 2nd cousin. She looked more similar to Carmela than she did to Livia.
Also, why did we kill Ray Liota to bring Ray Liota back as his twin brother? You know what, I’m not going to even get into that.
I thought Dickie Moltisanti, played by Alessandro Nivola, was great in the film, except from the fact that he didn’t look anything like Christopher. He just didn’t. Nobody can convince me otherwise. The facial structures are completely different. Young Joanne (Christopher’s mother), too.
I know a lot of time is meant to pass between The Sopranos and The Many Saints of Newark so they have a bit of room to get away with these things, but it’s a bit too far gone for me. It just felt a bit like watching a fan film about the Sopranos, not the actual characters origins. There was a strong disconnect.
Johnny Soprano, played by Jon Bernthal, also seemed irrelevant in this film. In the series, it’s evident how much of a role Johnny plays on Tony’s life, and in the film, it seems quite the contrary, and that is because of my second qualm.
STORY
This film was clearly marketed as Tony Soprano’s origin story, but it wasn’t. It was about Dickie Moltisanti, a character often spoken of in the series, but never explored. For that reason, this film with that sole storyline would’ve been fantastic, but admittedly it’s hard to make a Soprano’s story without talking about Tony.
I imagine the writers ran into the same issue. The film seemed to have three story lines. The Dickie story, The Tony story, and the Harold story but it didn’t feel balanced well.
If they were to have just committed to Tony’s origin story, Dickie Moltisanti playing a large role in it, with racial tensions creating a distressing backdrop within the film, I think it would’ve been a knockout. But it was Dickie Moltisanti’s rise and fall, Tony somehow finding himself within that, and riots.
I’m not the first person to hate on this film.
Some ratings:
IMDb: 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
Metacritic: 60%
Google Reviews: 2.4 Stars
The creator of the Soprano’s, David Chase, didn’t want to create any type of follow up to the series. He denied it for years. What he wanted to do was make a mob movie, and Warner Bros and New Line Cinema said, “Sure, but do it in these handcuffs”. Chase was forced to include an immeasurable about of drawbacks to the series, contrary to what he really wanted when he set out to make a mob movie.
Part of me wonders why he went through with it, but I don’t blame him.
There’s plenty of interviews challenging and justifying everything I’ve just expressed, but my opinion stands!
The Sopranos was probably the greatest show I’ve ever watched, so I’m being extremely harsh. I was expecting a lot and I got a little. So as a fan, it was disappointing.
To wrap this up, I know I’m 3 years late to The Many Saints of Newark party, and The Sopranos party for that matter, but after watching this last night, I had to get my thoughts out.
I’m finished now.