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| Images courtesy WB/HBO |
Bringing back many of the characters we met years ago, this new project feels more like a television pilot for a prequel series than it does a feature film. It's a two hour bit of fan service that relies heavily on nostalgia and past connections to subvert our expectations of something really great. Sitting somewhere between the highs and absolute lowest points of the original HBO series, we get a small history lesson in the Sopranos mythology. And it's just not enough.
Spending time with many of these criminals feels like home again, but the storytelling falters under the weight of its self reliance on the series' rabid fandom. Much of what made the show so great is missing here. There is nothing original or needed with The Many Saints of Newark. It's all been said before in Goodfellas, Casino, The Irishman, and dozens of other mafia movies that actually carried a worthwhile plot. Switching between two decades, we see Tony as a young lad and a teen, neither of which gives us much insight into his upcoming directive as the mob boss. Nothing in the storytelling really tells us why or how, and what is laid out is lazy writing by David Chase. His own legacy gets the best of him here.
Case in point, not everything needs a back story. Many times what we don't know is better left a mystery. We don't need answers for everything and we definitely didn't need to know "Who Made Tony Soprano?". Sometimes the best details are those that are left unsaid. This is an extension of one of the greatest television shows of all time and this expansion is not something any of us really needed.
Understanding the importance of The Sopranos on the history of entertainment or how we watch TV now definitely has some bearing, but sometimes its better to let sleeping dogs lie. There are some excellent moments in the film, but none of this was really necessary and just feels like a tag end to something far greater and much more influential. The Many Saints of Newark is a step back that forgets the expansive character study of its originator.
The Sopranos was a deep dig into the psyche of Tony Soprano. It was about a mob boss that visited a shrink despite his ties to organized crime. There was always a fine line there that felt omnipresent and threatening to the idea of that character. At any time, Tony could have been whacked for talking to Dr. Melfi. That is what's really missing here. Chase's latest has no lingering tension and is highly unoriginal. The deaths are expected and the violence is old hat. The Many Saints of Newark is watchable but languishes in mediocrity from front to back. Despite a few excellent performances, it's another lesson in broken promises.
Michael Gandolfini carries much of the film with an eerie resemblance to his father. His mannerisms, speaking voice and general physicality are all haunting. It would be nice to see him be able to continue as this character at some point. But the real stand out with The Many Saints of Newark is John Magaro as Silvio Dante. He captures the essence of the character down to the core. Viewers are also shown a young Paulie Walnuts, Junior Soprano, and Carmela among various others. Vera Farmiga plays Livia under a nose prosthetic with her usual proven talents.
Since 2007, fans of The Sopranos have waited for some type of return to that world. Finally, after fourteen years we are given something that definitely has markers of the former show's excellence but is altogether hampered by a thin plot and heavy reliance on our sentimentality for this underworld and its players. If this was the beginnings for a new show with a more extended look at the early years, it would be a much easier pill to swallow. If HBO decided to make this into a series, this would be a perfect pilot episode. But as a movie, it has its moments but is not the one we deserved.
-CG
