One of my favorite things to play is “remember when”, or as it is otherwise known, “remember the time”. I play it with my friends and family whenever we get together over the holidays and such.
I’m sure you play it too. Everybody does.
Sometimes we’ll play it when were talking about our favorite movies. For instance, somebody will say, “remember when they were on the boat and they were all getting drunk and Quint told that story about the sailors in World War II who got eaten by a school of sharks?” And that will spawn a discussion not only about Jaws, but about the torpedoing of the USS Indianapolis…which will lead to a discussion on the Navy and, then, the military in general…and, hopefully, somebody will change the subject because it’s getting too close to the politics danger zone.
It’s an exercise in nostalgia. It bonds us even as it, sometimes, strains those bonds.
Essentially, that’s what The Many Saints of Newark is too, which is great, in theory. The problem is it’s centered around a character that we don’t have an invested interest in: Dickie Molisanti.
For those in the know (and, theoretically, for those who aren’t) Dickie is the father that Christopher Moltisanti–the quasi-nephew of Tony Soprano, heir apparent to the family criminal enterprise and habitual thorn in his uncle’s side–never knew, aside from the stories he has heard around the family dinner table. That’s all we know of him too-those of us who have faithfully watched and re-watched the series.
Perhaps that would be all right if writer and producer David Chase and actor Alessandro Nivola had fleshed out the character of Dickie Moltisanti more. But, as it stands, we are never privy to what makes Dickie tick, to what–in the parlance of an actor–motivates him. And so, when he breaks down and cries, when he goes into a rage, when he sturdies himself for whatever unpleasantness he’s about to do, we don’t care because we don’t believe him.
Dickie’s paramour ( goomah) Giuseppina, an immigrant from the “old country,” really gets the short shrift when it comes to substance. And that’s a big mistake for a pivotal character that bridges the film’s racially fueled parallel narrative and is the catalyst of Dickie’s consuming guilt.
In fact, most of Chase’s characters are rigidly anemic; sadly, even those we know so well: Sil, Paulie, Livia, Janice, Junior and, yes, even Tony himself, are confined to mere aspects of their physical likeness, their ticks and mannerisms, if not their humanity. The exception is Leslie Odom Jr. who portrays Harold, a numbers runner who grows tired of squirming under the thumb of mafia and decides to strike out at the disparity he see all around him by starting up his own criminal enterprise. Odom puts some meat on the bones of a character that is rather inconsequentially–albeit unintentionally–written. And that is a testament to Mr. Odom’s craft in this, otherwise, exercise in nostalgia, if not futility.
I read about this film and TV series on another blog last week. I hadn’t heard of it previously. The Sopranos is still my favourite modern TV series, bar none. I thought it was simply wonderful, and I have the whole thing on various DVD box sets.
When blogging about it, I did have a couple of ‘exchanges’ with Italian-American bloggers who said they were tired of their Italian heritage being portrayed as simply organised crime and violent gangsters. But that was also my heritage, albeit in the working-class London of the 1960s, so for me it is like watching history.
I’m not sure when, or if, I will get to see this prequel, and the TV show. But I will certanly be watching it if I can. Thanks for your thoughts on it, Pam.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I read the same blog as you did, Pete. And I respect the blogger and his knowledge of cinema. He and I just have different views on this film–and that’s a good thing because cinema is subjective. Anyway, I love The Sopranos too. I’ve watched the series many times. I, like you, understand some Italian-Americans who are tired of the whole mafia thing, but that has no bearing on my love for The Sopranos, The Godfather, Mean Streets, Goodfellas, etc.,..it is what it is.
I’m sure you will be able to see The Many Saints of Newark and I’d be interested in you thoughts on it when you do.
–Pam
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Glad to you got to see this one. Of course, I don’t entirely agree, but I can certainly see where you’re coming from. I think you’re right in saying that the Paulies, Silvios, Livias and such are underdeveloped and almost exclusively reliant on the original performances from The Sopranos. But, in terms of Dickie, the character is practically a carbon copy of Christopher – a good guy deep down, but addictive and self destructive and temperamental. In fact, I’d say we practically already know the character – it is Chris. His motivation to be inspiring and beneficial to the community (blind baseball scene) is tragic and flawed: of course, in the world he lives in, that never quite works.
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I see where you’re coming from too. But no, Dickie’s character didn’t work for me. I don’t see him as a carbon copy of Christopher. I think they are very different. Christopher doesn’t want to be a good guy in my opinion. His only redeeming qualities are a little boy’s vulnerability when he is hurt, insecure or afraid and his genuine, but awfully flawed love for Adrianna. Otherwise he’s a vicious, preening, sulking ass. But he’s human. Yes, there are parallel characteristics between father and son, but they do not feel natural to me. They just feel like plot and character devices.
I could go on about this ad nauseam…and I have. Ha! It’s just a difference of opinion. There’s no right and no wrong, though I have a strong feeling that David Chase and Alessandro Nivola would say otherwise. Ha!
Thanks for reading and commenting…and don’t stay away too long.
–Pam
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I won’t. Thanks, Pam. 👍
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Like many others, I am a big admirer of The Sopranos and have eagerly waited for this film to finally arrive (it was delayed due to the pandemic). However, reviews have been mixed. It seems the critics either love it or are disappointed. So much anticipation, on my part, I fear now the film will not live up to my expectations and have hesitated to watch it. Excellent thoughts on your part. Stay safe!
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Right. I stayed away from the reviews until I watched it because I didn’t want to be influenced. I wanted to like it. But it didn’t work for me. Another blogger that I respect thought it was very good, so it’s a lot like the series ending, which I liked, by the way.
Thanks for reading.
–Pam
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I’ve been wanting to see this before I commented but I haven’t gotten a chance yet. I didn’t watch the Sopranos until 2018 or so. I binged watched The Wire, Breaking Bad, and The Sopranos back to back to back. The Sopranos were my favorite out of all of them. The depth of the characters just blew me away.
I hope I enjoy the movie.
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I do too, Max. Let me know what you think when you do see it…please.
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I sure will.
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I’ve never watched the The Sopranos! I have HBO, so I have no excuse.
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Well, if there is, or ever was such a thing as must see tv, The Sopranos is a prime example of it. That said, I’ve never watched an episode of Friends, Sex in the City or Golden Girls either. Usually, if everybody’s jumping on the bandwagon, I don’t get on it. The Sopranos is an exception.
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I was so hoping I would not agree with you. I was looking forward to it…but I agree with you. I really didn’t feel anything for Dickie and the others were more of a parody of themselves… especially Sil.
From what I read there will be a part 2 about Tony in his 20s. Maybe that will be better.
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Good. I think that’s what fans want to see…I didn’t mind that it was about Dickie, per se, but I don’t think they did a good enough job telling the story. They need to find a really strong lead to play Tony…that may be Michael Gandolfini, maybe not…I just really couldn’t tell if he’s a good enough actor to pull it off watching The Many Saints of Newark…and that tells me he isn’t, but a lot of critics really liked his performance.
But yeah, Sil is a hard character to pull off because he and Paulie are pretty much Dick Tracey like villains in the series, at least initially. We buy into them because of the masterful character development with the writers and actors and the juxtaposition of Sil, Paulie and Tony demonstrating the latter’s struggle with his own humanity. That’s a hard dynamic to pull off in a two hour movie.
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I was thinking about that. The Sopranos would not have been the Sopranos in a two hour movie. It’s going to be tough to pull it off.
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