The Many Saints of Newark (2021) - Clashing emotions in a changing world - 7/10 (14/10/21)

The Many Saints of Newark is a crime drama serving as a prequel to the series The Sopranos. Even if you aren't familiar with the series, this film is certainly worth a try for genre fans.

The movie revolves around the childhood and adolescence of Tony Soprano, the child of an American-Italian crime family. He explores betrayal and loyalty, doubts and trust, joy and sorrow, embitterment and reconciliation, life and death among family members and friends.

This film convinces on many levels. First of all, the soundtrack, settings and clothings bring the sixties and seventies back to life in authentic fashion and provide atmospheric depth.

Up next, the different characters are very distinctive and profound. We observe innocent children looking up to their family members, frustrated mobsters who are attempting to gain freedom, influence and reputation and old-fashioned gangsters who don't make any compromises and don't take any prisoners.

The movie features several subplots which add much diversity. It follows the complicated relationship of an Italian immigrant with her violent husband, a mobster who has to go to prison and leave his family behind for four years and a family man who makes many enemies while trying to become the leader of the mobsters.

However, there are also a few elements that could have been improved. Some characters could have been given some additional background information in form of flashbacks.

Up next, the movie mostly focuses on dialogues but a few more explosive scenes might have added some action and tension at appropriate times.

Still, The Many Saints of Newark is a good to very good gangster movie that can compete with other recent releases such as The Irishman. The atmosphere, characters and subplots are certainly the highlights and leave room for potential sequels. Newcomers might be interested in watching the television series as well after discovering this film while fans of the series might think that the movie is at times lacking depth and precision. If you like this kind of movie, let me warmly recommend you the similar Mafia Inc. Released two years ago in Quebec.