The Many Saints of Newark, 2021.
Directed by Alan Taylor.
Starring Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Michael Gandolfini, Billy Magnussen, Michela De Rossi, John Magaro, Ray Liotta, and Vera Farmiga.
SYNOPSIS:
The Many Saints of Newark hits Blu-ray with a small batch of extras and a code for a digital copy. The film is underwhelming compared to the TV series, but it’s still worthwhile viewing for fans who want a glimpse into Tony Soprano’s formative years.
The Sopranos was at its best when it was understated, subtle. It was as if creator David Chase knew that audiences were tuning in for the sex and violence and instead, especially in the later seasons, turned their expectations around. The much-discussed series finale’s final moments was a great example of that. What happened to Tony when the screen abruptly turned to black? I think it’s obvious what happened, but you may have your own hypothesis, and that’s okay.
So when the news broke that Chase was developing a prequel movie, fans of the TV series were excited. Here was a chance to dig deep into Tony’s early days and, in particular, get a sense of Dickie Moltisanti, Christopher’s father and the future crime boss’s mentor. And hopefully Chase would bring his trademark style to the film, which was to be directed by Alan Taylor, who helmed many episodes of the show.
Unfortunately, The Many Saints of Newark doesn’t live up to those expectations. Sure, we get to see part of Tony’s formative years, and Michael Gandolfini does a great job of inhabiting a younger version of the character that his father made famous, but much of the story is very on-the-nose and almost paint by numbers, as if Chase knew that he simply had to cover certain territory and call it a day.
Chase made an interesting choice by adding the Newark race riots of the late 1960s to the film, and as he said in an interview I heard, it was happenstance that he did so just as George Floyd was murdered and the Black Lives Matter movement took to the streets of American cities. However, that part of the film feels tacked-on and not really necessary, as if it was part of a completely different movie that Chase was working on and decided to shoehorn into this one.
The Many Saints of Newark’s main plotline concerns Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), who has the anger management problems of Tony Soprano but none of his aplomb. Dickie is simply a hothead who’s not above killing family members in fits of rage – it’s hard to see how his brash, abrasive style mentored Tony and helped turn him into the man he became, especially since his father, Johnny Soprano, treats him like a nuisance more than anything else. There’s no adult influence, male or female, that helps us understand how young Tony will turn into the middle-aged Tony of the TV series.
The film lays the groundwork for Tony’s later emotional problems that send him into therapy in the beginning of The Sopranos, but there’s nothing particularly revelatory about any of it. He’s a smart kid who starts getting himself into trouble because all the male role models in his life lead those kinds of lives, nothing more. And the story can be very on-the-nose with some moments, such as when baby Christopher Moltisanti cries when Tony tries to hold him.
The one element of the film that feels like it has Chase’s fingerprints on it is the handling of Tony’s mother, Livia. As played by Vera Farmiga, she’s clearly very similar to Tony’s future wife Carmela. In fact, the resemblance is so eerie that it’s easy to think that Edie Falco was cast in the role. A teenage Carmela does appear in this film, but there’s nothing particularly interesting about the way she’s handled, unfortunately.
Warner Bros. has issued The Many Saints of Newark in a Blu-ray that has a small set of bonus features along with a code for a digital copy. None of the extras are particularly compelling, but here’s what you’ll find:
- Deleted scenes (5.5 minutes): There’s nothing earth-shattering here, although an excised scene in which Tony has one of his “fits” and collapses on the kitchen floor is mildly interesting. However, it doesn’t really give us a sense of why he’s afflicted by the malady. Word online is that Edie Falco filmed a scene as Carmela that was cut, but that’s not found here.
- The Making of Newark (13 minutes): This is pretty standard featurette fare that includes Chase, Taylor, and members of the cast looking back on the TV series and then talking through the creation of The Many Saints of Newark. If anything, this making-of is apt to make fans even more aware of what’s missing from this film.
- Sopranos Family Honor (5.5 minutes): Dickie Moltisanti was mentioned many times on the TV show but never shown, so this brief featurette focuses on his character in the series and in this film.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★★ / Movie: ★★★
Brad Cook
