The Many Saints of Newark – Review

The Many Saints of Newark

Directed by: David Chase

Runtime: 120 minutes

I hope it is not a very controversial statement to say that the ‘golden age’ of television would not have happened without The Sopranos. The Sopranos was high-quality, character-driven drama that kickstarted a movement of morally grey, but extremely likeable protagonists and sprawling plot threads that mimicked a real-life-like narrative. Aesthetically, the series presented almost cinematically, with beautiful, lingering shots (and a fantastic soundtrack to score them) providing some of the most memorable moments from the series. I could write for hours on why I believe The Sopranos to be a beacon of excellence: a blueprint for all good television both past and present. However, this review is about the prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark.

Shit.

I am not saying that the film was shit, by any means. In fact, I found the whole thing more than enjoyable. My disappointment expressed here is not in the film itself, but instead in the fact that I do not have the space here just to gush about The Sopranos. Any disappointment I may have with the film itself is just that while it gives a taste of what The Sopranos once was, it works more like a very high-grade methadone. Really, reviewing this film is quite simple. Do you like The Sopranos? If yes, you will like The Many Saints of Newark. The performances are as solid as one would expect from a Sopranos feature, and it incorporates some very Sopranos lines/moments and some very Sopranos cinematography.

Yes, I have used the name of the original series a lot in this review. No, I am not allowing The Many Saints of Newark to stand on its own. To be honest, with something like this, it is incredibly difficult to do that. The whole thing is marketed on being a prequel to a pre-existing cultural monolith—so why try to review it as if it stands on its own two feet? Really, the main struggle it has is the fact the structure of the thing doesn’t really feel like a movie… it feels like an extended episode of television. That isn’t to say I am turning my nose up at it; television is no longer seen as a lesser form to a cinematic experience (we can thank The Sopranos for that, in part), and I really do believe this was better suited as a mini-series (but again, it may just be because I want more Sopranos). Basically, this film wasn’t really movie-shaped, and my biggest criticisms lie more in what it could have been than what it was.

So, what was it? It was a very good film about mafia families in New Jersey. The performances were stellar, Alessandro Nivola balanced the correct amount of passion, guilt, and ruthlessness that we have come to expect from a high-ranking mafioso in this universe, and Michael Gandolfini portrayed a young Tony Soprano so well that I was more mesmerised with his performance than his status as the deceased original actor’s son. Jon Bernthal was born to be in a Sopranos feature, and Vera Farmiga channelled the spirit of the late Nancy Marchand in her excellent, if not uncanny turn as Livia Soprano. Leslie Odom Jr.’s performance as Harold McBrayer, a character entirely conceived for the film, was very solid and provided some of the more emotional beats of the script. However, his character did not lead to much—it seemed he was being used more for set-up of a Sopranos Story franchise than for anything else.

As a Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints of Newark is fantastic. As a film, it’s perfectly fine. Good luck getting the theme tune out of your head after watching.