The film tells the story of Frank the "Irish" from an ordinary low-level worker, through acting as a black hand in political forces and power struggles, and finally "struggling" step by step to become the union president/(gang boss). Under the darkness and blood, the light of humanity of the gang characters still flashes: iron blood and tenderness, loyalty and betrayal, mediation and compromise... And these all turned into raindrops, fell on the streets of the city, and finally merged into the epic of this great era .
From the perspective of the narrator "Frank in his old age", the film tells the audience anecdotes of gangster legends spanning decades... Such a purely oral memoir reminds people of the ancient Greek troubadour Homer, for the film Add a strong epic.
Frank is free between the market and the powerful. To a certain extent, he is a bridge between the bottom and the top of the society . He substitutes the audience into the three and a half hours of light and shadow time, and jointly builds this particular scene. Spiritual products of historical times.
And such a product from the gangster culture can also be used as a footnote to the official history , which is of great significance to the audience's understanding of contemporary American history and society.
The gangster epic emerges on the basis of its own worldview, and over time will ultimately be a denial of gangster thinking .
Heroes twilight, strong men twilight.
So the audience will think: behind the changes of the great era, what has disappeared? What is left?
A few interesting details:
(1) Jimmy and Frank asked on the first call: " I heard you paint houses." Will be splashed on walls and floors like paint all over the place;
And Frank replied: " I do my own carpentry work, too.", which means making coffins for himself and the dead (disposing of corpses) , alluding to "I will help you kill people and also dispose of corpses." ".
(2) The word "worry" appears in many places in the film.
Frank's inner monologue in the first half of the film "When people say they're a little worried, they're really worried; and when they say they're not just a little worried, they're cornered." This is saying: if the gangs express concern, they will "act" accordingly;
In the second half of the film, when Russell is "a little worried" about what Jimmy has done, it implies that the political forces behind the scenes and the mafia have decided to do something to Jimmy;
Immediately after Frank said to Jimmy, "I'm worried," it was a sincere revelation as a friend.
(3) Daughter Peggy
Daughter Peggy is Frank's armor and weakness. They can communicate with each other without too much verbal communication.
Frank once talked about his relationship with his daughter in an interview: Peggy could "read [him] like a book" easily.
In the film, Peggy always silently observes her father's every move. From a very early age, she has been ignorant of her father's true occupation.
To a certain extent, the two very different reactions her daughter Peggy showed when facing Uncle Russell and Uncle Jimmy actually reflected Frank's true emotions.
For Frank:
Russell is a "father" who is not angry and arrogant;
Jimmy is the "brother" with all his heart and soul.
The birth of Peggy made Frank aware of the family's burden.
Father Frank knew at a glance that Peggy had something on her mind.
Silently observing his father's "friends".
He watched his father silently.
Facing Russell, Peggy was very restrained.
In the face of Jimmy, Peggy is genuine love and recognition.
Reaction to Russell's Christmas present.
Peggy, who gradually understands her father's occupation, tries to stop her father.
Paige's love and tolerance for her father made her still participate in Frank's award ceremony.
It wasn't until she realized her father had killed Uncle Jimmy that Paige asked "Why?" for the first time.
(4) Bread and Wine: Frank and Russell
Russell is more like a father who is also a teacher and a friend to Frank .
The eating habits of bread and red wine, from the initial restaurant meeting, have been retained until the end. This kind of earnest teaching at the table is very characteristic of Italian family education.
(5) DO NOT CLOSE THE DOOR!
In his later years, Frank retained the same "sleep without closing the door" habit as Jimmy.
Retaining someone's living habits is not only because they are deeply influenced by him, but also a kind of missing.
(6) Frank chose green for his coffin in his later years, and it was the green that represented the "Irish" character.
It's one of Frank's unique personalities to never forget his roots. Confusingly, audiences see loyalty instead in his "betrayal."
Behind the scenes of the film, post a few real old photos:
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