Revisiting Martin Scorsese’s ‘Mean Streets’ And Cinema’s Tryst With Criminals

The Hollywood View: Martin Scorsese’s Harvey Keitel-Robert De Niro starrer noir-drama gives a brutal picture of the underdogs nurturing in the American mafia world.

The Hollywood View: The Mafia and underworld has been one of the most saleable concepts in moviemaking. Despite language and cultural barriers, films based on criminals and smugglers are preferred by a huge audience base. The recent hype over Pushpa: The Rise, KGF: Chapter 2 and Vikram showcases how dark themes have a universal appeal. These films have not just worked because of their box office collection, but since they have been viewed on OTT as well. Many viewers from different countries, speaking foreign languages have liked and appreciated films about mafias and smugglers. In the 1970s when mafia was on a rise in both Asia and the West, Martin Scorsese came up with his underrated gem Mean Streets (1973). The movie released at a time when the term Mafia was still not very popular in pop culture. The Italian American Mafia was operating since the early 1970s in America. While Vardarajan Mudaliar, Karim Lala and Haji Mastan were the Ganglords running organised crime syndicates from Mumbai in India.

MEAN STREETS SHOWS A DISTRESSED SOCIETY

The year 1973 has all hunky-dory memories in the minds of educated middle-class Indians. Raj Kapoor paid all his debts by making a teenage love story Bobby inspired by the American comic series The Archies. Rishi Kapoor became the first chocolate boy hero while Dimple Kapadia redefined glamour in her polka dotted crop top, mid-thigh skirts and red bikini. Apart from that, the country was blessed with the birth of great icons like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Aishwarya Rai, SS Rajamouli, Rohit Shetty, Sonu Sood, Leander Paes and others. It was a great year for Indian Sports as well as Vijay Amritraj defeated Australia’s Mal Anderson in the singles at Indian Open tennis tournament. However, little did we know that the 1973 oil-crisis fuelled inflation and pushed up the unemployment rate in India. This was one of the catalysts which later led to the Emmergency (1975-77). Social distress is directly related to the world of crime and Mafia. Mean Streets is not just the story of American gangsters, but it shows the unknown realities of a troubled society. The noir drama is an underdog story which has been shot with the most indie-filmmaking style unlike Taxi Driver.

MARTIN SCORSESE BRINGS A HUMAN STORY ABOUT CRIMINALS

The main characters in the Martin Scorsese directorial are not larger-than-life. The storytelling might be boring for those who do not like to experience uncomfortable truth in cinema. Hervey Keitel’s Charlie Cappa and Robert De Niro’s John Civello are petty criminals whose lives aren’t glamourised by media. They are the everyday forgettable ones who are either sentenced to prison or get killed during gang wars or crossfire shootouts. Charlie is torn between morality due to his Catholic beliefs and working under his Mafioso uncle. He also faces a dilemma about his irresponsible friend John who owes lot of money to dangerous loan sharks. Charlie selflessly going out of the way for his friend in the world of killings and treachery gives us a character to reckon with in an otherwise criminal setup. Scorsese and Mardik Martin’s screenplay is not about how the mafia operates or the bloodshed, explosions, or gunshots. It narrates the life of human characters in a complicated world from where there is no way out. Charlie has a passionate secret affair with his friend’s cousin Teresa essayed by Amy Robinson and is sensitive about his relationship. He is like any other person working at a private job going through professional and personal turmoil. John played by De Niro is the most unethical yet relatable character. It could be a ruthless boss mentally harassing employees or an abusive husband who refuses to change his behaviour. John is every toxic person in our lives whom we must endure but cannot change them. Teresa is the soul which suffers when humans can’t let go. She goes through all the mess her boyfriend and cousin have created for themselves.

MEANS STREETS IS BRUTALLY HONEST

Mean Streets is on your face, unabashed and brutally honest tale of crime and Mafia. The period of 1970s was crucial as Joe Columbo, Boss of the Colombo mafia family and creator of the Italian American Civil Rights League was shot at Columbus circle in 1971. Mean Streets is different from other gangster sagas in many ways. While The Godfather was about a fictional mafia family, Goodfellas focussed more on the violence and the aftermath of getting involved in organised crime. The Irishman was inspired by the disappearance of American labour leader Jimmy Hoffa. It was based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt. Mean Streets introduces us to a life we don’t want to have. With every sequence Scorsese throws truth bombs o us giving a darker picture of the other part of the world. The characters speak to us through their situations that how fortunate we are to be on the brighter side. It also blurs the difference between so-called civilised citizens and goons. A comic scene where the Charlie, John and their friends get into a fight is symbolic of how so-called educated people fight over silly thing amongst each other. Art can have many interpretations just as it is with life. The most significant message from Mean Streets is that life is uncertain and unpredictable. One must live purposefully and not waste their time and energy on negative people. De Niro and Hervey complement each other and are perfectly cast in their roles. Apart from their bromance, Robinson as Teresa does a decent job despite limited screen time. The supporting cast does an equally commendable job.

VERDICT

Mean Streets is meant for movie buffs who like to consume cinema as an art form and not just entertainment. It is among the most unconventional movies that captures the dark side of humans. Scorsese’s most successful attempts at linking pop culture to storytelling as it conveys a lot without getting preachy. Watch out for the soulful performances by Hervey, De Niro, Robinson and others.