American Gangster, He Said

You start with a great director, Ridley Scott. You add two American Iconic actors Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. You mix in a tight script Steven Zaillian. And you have a recipe for success.

American Gangster tells us a story about free market economics, entrepreneurship and greed at a level that even Wall Street would blanch at. When the film opens a young Frank Lucas, played by Washington, is thrust into the leadership position of a Harlem gang because of the sudden death of his beloved mentor. Frank will later tell people that the man was like a father to him. The man dies in a warehouse retail store as he is telling Frank about the new economics. This store has by passed the wholesalers and gone directly to the source of their goods. They have also eliminated personal service.

When Frank emerges as the new kingpin, after murdering his competition in broad daylight in front of enough community to make sure nobody else will try and muscle him out, he looks at the business from a different angle. The New York City Police who are suppose to be fighting the drug dealers are actually selling confiscated dope, that is cut and re-cut , back to the Italian Mafia, who than resells it to Franks dealers. Frank, using contacts in Vietnam, arranges to buy 100% pure product and smuggle it into the US on military flights.
By marketing the product himself and making sure that everyone he needs is paid well and on time, Frank takes over the drug trade in New York and eventually pretty much all of the East Coast. In doing this his genius is that he is below the radar on all of the drug enforcement efforts, who are still looking at the Italian Mafia. Frank has only one enemy that he has to deal with and that is the corrupt New York cops.

Enter Detective Ritche Roberts. Roberts is defined by the incident in which he and his partner found one million dollars in the trunk of a hoodlums car and turned it in. He is shunned by his corrupt peers. He is also witnessing the destruction of his marriage, as his dedication to the law and his studies to get his law degree have left little time for a family life. Because of his reputation to honesty Roberts is given the green light to organize a special unit to wipe out the big time drug operations on the East Coast. With his handpicked crew of honest and knowledgeable cops, he assembles a rogues gallery of suspects, after he tells his crew that they are leaving the small time dealers to others, he only wants to get the big guys. Noticeably missing on his rogues gallery is Frank Lucas.

This is a story of how success begets envy and makes you a target for all of your competitors. People don't want to bring down Frank with a better idea or a better product; they want to get what he has and they don't want to pay for it. Frank is able to limit his exposure by using his family to diversify his operations and by keeping a low profile. He tells his younger cousin, who has taken to wearing stylish clothes and affecting an outrageous lifestyle, that what he looked like to the rest of the world was tantamount to saying, "Arrest me". He cautioned him to dress different and not make a spectacle of himself. And yet in the end , it is making a spectacle of himself is what drew Roberts attention to Frank and caused his down fall. Typical of a hood who is taking the rap Frank takes the other bad guys down with him.

This film is one of those entertaining but also instructive stories that has to be taken with a shot of clear eyed realization that Robert's character, for one, is the consolidation of probably a couple if not a few agencies in the real events. Given that suspension of disbelief, you can enjoy this story for what it is. If you looking for Russel and Denzel on screen together, you'll be disappointed. If your looking for great performances by both of these fine actors you will not be disappointed. Washington and Crowe bring these real life character to life with all of their assets and liabilities laid out like a corporate Profit and Loss statement. the film juxtaposes Frank Lucas's disregard for what drugs did to his community in contrast to his generosity and concern for his family. Roberts dedication to honesty and the law is contrasted to his total failure as a husband and father. We also witness the real villain in this film, the effect of drugs on our society and how our utter inability to face the problem further complicates the issue.