Monday, November 23, 2009

Mean Streets

Mean Streets is a 1973 film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. The film centers on Keitel's character Charlie, a small time debt collector for the local mafia. Charlie struggles to find a balance between his religious beliefs, his work for the mafia, his epileptic girlfriend, and his boisterous friend Johnny Boy (played by a young De Niro). Though shot cheaply in a loose hand-held style, it is interesting to see Scorsese's first attempt at tackling some of the themes that would become synonymous with his later work (Catholicism, New York, the mafia, Robert De Niro, etc.). For today's audiences, the film works better as a time capsule, capturing hungry young actors, a gritty vision of New York, and a brilliant director working his way up from his B movie roots.

Rating: 70%

(Image from amazon.ca)

3 comments:

DCP said...

It also has a terrific use of "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes.

I.J. said...

Your mom's shot cheaply and in a loose, handheld style.

Quammy said...

@ John

Didn't your mother ever tell you that the internet is not a place for rudeness and insults? No? That's probably because she's a whore.