The Many Saints of Newark – Film Review

Young Anthony Soprano (Michael Gandolfini) is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark, New Jersey, history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters start to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), whose influence over his nephew will help shape the impressionable teenager into the all-powerful mob boss, Tony Soprano.

On this episode of “Things I Was Too Young To Be Watching But I Watched Them Anyway”, I will briefly discuss the very first time I ended up watching David Chase‘s hit mob drama series The Sopranos. I don’t necessarily remember the first time ever but I do remember clear as day that I saw the show for the first time when I was probably either seven or eight years old. Yes, really. Of course, because I was so young, a ton of things went right over my head and I was oftentimes perplexed and completely lost as to what was going on. But nevertheless, I did understand quite a bit of it.

So, basically, I grew up watching The Sopranos and have genuinely adored it ever since. My all-time favorite television show is without a doubt Vince Gilligan‘s Breaking Bad, but The Sopranos is definitely in second place. That’s why, as I’m sure you can imagine, I was extremely excited to see Alan Taylor‘s film The Many Saints of Newark, which serves as a prequel to the hit show that started it all back in 1999.

But don’t let the film’s marketing fool you – this is not necessarily a film about Tony Soprano, but rather, the people around him that influenced him and helped him grow into the shoes of the dangerous mob boss we know him to be in the television series. This is really all about Dickie Moltisanti and the rest of his family and boy, what a crazy family it is. To put things bluntly, I loved every single second of The Many Saints of Newark. Not only is it an incredible look at how some of the best Sopranos characters started out in the business and how far back the Moltisanti storyline goes, but it’s also a riveting and tense film on its own.

Of course, this is going to be an even better watch if you’re a massive fan of The Sopranos like me, but even if you’ve never seen a single episode, you’ll still get plenty of entertainment value out of this. Right from the opening scene, you get the feel that this is definitely set in the world that the show so beautifully established. Even though this is definitely more cinematic than the series, it still feels like a two-hour-long episode of The Sopranos in all the best ways.

Sadly, the world lost the tremendously talented James Gandolfini – who portrayed Tony Soprano in the series – in June 2013. His son, Michael, portrays the same character in this movie, and I can’t even begin to imagine how tough that whole process must have been for him, but against all odds, he delivers greatly. Is he as great as his father in the role of Tony Soprano? No, he’s not, but that’s not really the goal here. Michael was supposed to portray an accurate and powerful version of Tony as a teenager and he succeded immensely.

Easily the scene-stealer here is Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltisanti who took me by comBilly Magnusplete surprise here. I haven’t seen too much of his work but after watching his electrifying and genuinely terrifying performance here as a ruthless man who stops at nothing to get what he wants, I will absolutely be on the lookout for him in future roles. To be honest, every single one of the cast members could be up for Academy Award nominations – they’re that good. Nivola owns every scene, Gandolfini is a revelation, and Vera Farmiga portrays Livia Soprano so well it’s actually kind of staggering.

Many fans of the series are going to be in for quite a delight at all the small easter eggs and callbacks to The Sopranos in this movie – scenes that are so small but are able to put a smile on your face. Some will call it a ton of fan service, but I don’t think so. Yes, there are definitely moments where the film pulls at the nostalgic strings but it’s not a problem really, because at its core, The Many Saints of Newark has a great story, front and center. It’s two hours long and yet, whenever the goosebump-inducing credits start to roll, I wanted to see two more hours of it. This film definitely has the makings of a Varsity athlete.