“The Many Saints of Newark” Review: The Prequel to David Chase’s “The Sopranos” Is More Than Tony’s Origin Story

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As it stands, series creator David Chase – reunited with director Alan Taylor and sharing script credit with Lawrence Konner – has set up a world where young Tony, has starred for just over half of the day. film by the late James Gandolfini’s son, Michael, is above all a spectator. The main action, in fact, surrounds his uncle Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), whose son Christopher would ultimately become one of the most hapless soldiers in adult Tony’s ranks.

Charismatic Dickie is everyone’s favorite uncle, but he’s also a very, very bad guy, running a lucrative numbers operation. His life is complicated when his father (Ray Liotta) returns from Italy with a trophy wife (Michela De Rossi), who obviously did not fall in love with him strictly for his charm.

The film opens in 1967, a particularly tumultuous period during which racial conflicts bleed into the family’s criminal enterprises. One of Dickie’s agents, Harold (“Hamilton’s” Leslie Odom Jr.), begins to irritate the relationship, as police abuse of blacks becomes harder to ignore.

Modern films rarely leave audiences wanting more, but in the case of “Many Saints” it might have been necessary. For starters, it takes a bit of time to sort out the characters and connect them to their “Sopranos” counterparts, with Vera Farmiga as the ugly and hapless mum of Tony Livia, young soldiers who would later be part of the crew of Tony and Corey Stoll as Uncle Junior, who doesn’t get the respect he thinks he deserves, especially with his brother Johnny Boy (Jon Bernthal) temporarily absent for criminal rap.

Violence, let no one forget, is brutal and disturbing. In the early ’70s, when “Dirty Harry” was recommended, the tale found Dickie under siege at work and home, Tony struggling with high school and Johnny Boy out of jail, which only fueled the family dynamic already. combustible. .

A series’ ability to unravel such stories leaves “Many Saints” feeling a bit rushed towards the end, though it pays off in a particularly apt way, which not only connects with “Sopranos” but brings nature together. somewhat disjointed from what came before it.

A veteran actor making the most of this star turn, Nivola is the real protagonist of a formidable cast, while Gandolfini portrays Tony’s awkward teenage years – idolizing his uncle and the lifestyle for a time when stepping into the family business was not envisioned for him, much like a young Michael Corleone.

In a recent Deadline interview, Chase said he was “angry” about this Warner Bros. release. aired simultaneously on the HBO Max streaming service (like CNN, units of WarnerMedia), but this only indicates that the writer-producer may have been blinded by the lure of a “‘Sopranos’ movie.”
“The Many Saints of Newark” turns out to be a believable and rewarding film. But with a little more seasoning and baking time, like its HBO predecessor, it could have turned out to be a truly sensational TV show.

“The Many Saints of Newark” premieres October 1 in US theaters and on HBO Max. It is classified R.

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