Charlie’s belief that “you must act on the streets to atone for your sins, not just go to church to pray”, which puts him in a dilemma about how to live a moral life in an immoral world. Scorsese expressed the depravity of this world, its ambiguous, undifferentiated nature, with the gloomy night scenes in "Poor Streets": red neon signs that flicker on and off, and vulgar nightclubs. The interior decoration, smoky rooms and tree-shaded streets are what Scorsese thinks of a contemporary fashionable prison, a nightmare world. In order to gain a place in this closed world, Charlie must please his old mafia uncle. On the other hand, Charlie, who is afraid of being punished by God, stretches his fingers into the flames from time to time, symbolizing the experience of being cursed and purgatory. The pain of the fire burning.
Charlie's vacillating stance affects Jonny, who is played by De Niro in the film. Jonny destroyed a mailbox as soon as he appeared on the scene. His purpose of doing this was purely for fun, reflecting the carelessness of this character. It was this carelessness that led Jonny to the fight in the tavern and led him to a more dangerous failure to pay. Borrowing money nonchalantly and not repaying it is just one aspect of Jonny's weird temper. His weirdness is also reflected in his unrestrained violent actions, which just violated the creed of Giovanni (Charlie's mafia uncle). Jonny's unbridled violence also exposed himself to the public, and this kind of self-exposure is what the cautious group has been trying to avoid. Exploding the mailbox and shooting at the Empire State Building, all of which embodied Jonny's unscrupulousness. It was his mouth that really brought him to death. In Fat Joey's billiard room, a boring dispute had just subsided but the violence was escalated again because of Jonny's remarks. In the face of Mike the money lender, Jonny was even more unscrupulous. He got $20 from Charlie's 30 yuan to pay off the debt and asked Mike to drink. He only had $10 left to pay the debt. He also provocatively said: Mike is the stupid moneylender in the world, and he keeps borrowing money. give him. "You're a fucking idiot." When Mike rushed over to catch him, Jonny pulled out a gun and taunted Mike. Although there were no bullets in the gun, Jonny's behavior was enough to trigger Mike's murderous intent.
Although the climax at the end of the movie is ambiguous, judging from the development of the plot, this violent ending is logically inevitable. God's judgment is reflected through the howling bullets, but it is Scorsese who actually directs the murder scene. Mike had already jumped out of the car and was going to capture Jonny, but the killer continued to shoot at the rest of Charlie's car, seemingly amused by it. Charlie's injury is nothing more than a skin trauma. He yearns for punishment but is afraid of destruction. Scorsese satisfies his desire for punishment, but allows him to avoid the fate of destruction. The most important thing in "Poor Streets" is the process, not the price paid for the ending. But when Charlie swayed away from the scene of the car accident, he was still struggling. He did not go to hell or heaven, but he was given a suspended sentence.
Scorsese referred to "Poor Streets" as "a declaration of faith." In his view, "Poor Streets" raises the question: "Can you still become a saint in today's social environment?" This film uses the method of film to take the Catholic view of sin, punishment and atonement. Expressed vividly. "If you want to be a saint, this is nowhere." This is the conclusion of "Poor Streets".
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