Film Review: THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK (2021): An Entertaining Origin Story of Tony Soprano

The Many Saints of Newark Review

The Many Saints of Newark (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Alan Taylor and starring Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Corey Stoll, Ray Liotta, Michela De Rossi, Michael Gandolfini, Billy Magnussen, John Magaro, Michael Imperioli, Samson Moeakiola, Joey Diaz, Germar Terrell Gardner, Alexandra Intrator, Gabriella Piazza, Mason Bleu and Aaron Joshua.

“The Sopranos” was one of the most wildly intriguing shows of its time so it’s no surprise that the origin story of its main character, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), is so much fun to watch. This new prequel movie is called The Many Saints of Newark and the film benefits greatly from a lead performance by Alessandro Nivola as Tony’s Uncle Dickie. Portraying the teenage Tony Soprano is none other than the late James Gandolfini’s son, Michael, and it’s to no surprise that Michael Gandolfini aces his key part in this movie. This picture is a little meandering at times but the film doesn’t waste those moments away from the plot doing nothing. Instead, those scenes help add flavor to the multi-dimensional characters in this intriguing character study.

This film is primarily set in New Jersey during the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s. The direction by Alan Taylor is always probing here. The character of Tony is more of a bystander in this story than anything else as he observes and absorbs the ways of his Uncle Dickie whose actions set the stage for the man Tony became in the television series. In a stroke of genius, the movie is narrated by Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) from “the other side.” Such intriguing references will greatly appeal more to fans of the television show and may go over the heads of people coming into this body of work for the first time through this movie. But, this movie’s responsibility is to make you want to watch the series if you haven’t seen it yet and on that account, it succeeds because I can’t imagine someone watching this movie and not turning to the source material if they have never experienced it before.

I mentioned Alessandro Nivola’s performance earlier and it’s absolutely terrific. His Dickie is a crime boss among crime bosses who dresses well and keeps the cash flowing. Leslie Odom Jr. portrays the African-American Harold McBrayer who played football with Dickie in school. Of course, there’s some tense themes to be found in the movie as race relations are explored through the development of these characters. Another notable performance is that of Jon Bernthal as Tony’s dad but Ray Liotta steals the show as Dickie’s dad who is a wise man but one with a quick temper as evidenced when he gets aggressive with his wife Giuseppina (the scene stealing Michela De Rossi, resembling Penelope Cruz in the best way possible).

Not every performance is as good as I expected it to be. A slightly unrecognizable Vera Farmiga is wasted in her role here. She’s a brilliant actress but the script doesn’t give her character any truly compelling scenes. Other than the scene where she questions Tony’s academic progress, the rest of her sequences are not truly memorable and the actress is not to fault. It’s a writing issue that slightly detracts viewers from the rest of the film which is more on point.

There are some intense scenes towards the end. One particular sequence set on a beach is totally absorbing with the audience questioning Dickie’s ability to accept a key revelation in the plot regarding the character of Giuseppina. There are also lighter moments throughout such as when Tony gets involved with hijacking a Mister Softee truck. I liked the way the film balances the powerful dramatic moments with lighter scenes. It takes a master craftsman to be able to do that and director Taylor is more than up to the task.

This film leaves the viewer wanting more and, luckily, we have immediate access to the source material to piece together the characters and the story lines featured on the incomparable show, “The Sopranos.” There are also some uncanny resemblances between the scenes in the new picture and parts of the great mob movie Goodfellas. Ray Liotta’s presence in the new film is also a reminder of that older movie. The presence of pay phones throughout is also quite amusing as that is how crime members communicated back then before beepers, cell phones, etc.

I have heard some detractors of the new film complain that they wanted more Tony and less Dickie. However, to understand Tony, the viewer must get to know Dickie and The Many Saints of Newark holds the viewer’s attention from beginning to end despite its minor flaws as it teaches us what made the later Tony tick.

Rating: 7/10

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