'The Many Saints of Newark' film review: Prequel richly fills in 'Sopranos' backstory
Although it has been nearly 15 years since 'The Sopranos' series finale, the crime drama 'The Many Saints of Newark' (streaming on HBO Max and in theaters Oct. 1) is a long-overdue return to Satriale's.
In short: Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola) navigates the New Jersey criminal underworld of the 1960s-70s, while becoming a father figure to an impressionable, young Tony Soprano (Michael Gandolfini). Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Vera Farmiga and Ray Liotta also star.
The first question to get out of the way: Do you need to have watched all 86 episodes of 'The Sopranos' before walking into 'Many Saints?' It's possible to track the plot of this standalone prequel, but the original series informs the choices made by well-known characters - choices that might seem petty or random to those unfamiliar with 'The Sopranos' characters. So many conflicts in ‘The Sopranos’ were executed under the guise of ‘business’ - but they were caused by profoundly insecure men drastically overreacting to petty slights. Rival mob crews almost went to ‘war’…over a fat joke. This is important to remember, especially for 'Many Saints.'
It's a kick to see much younger versions of familiar supporting characters Paulie Walnuts and Silvo Dante. Even 25-30 years before the TV show takes place, they're still elementally their idiosyncratic selves. Bernthal carries himself as Tony Soprano's hot-headed father. Vera Farmiga is nearly pitch perfect as Tony's joyless and acerbic mother Livia - she absolutely captures Nancy Marchand's incredulous, dismissive scoff. Uncle Junior's oversized glasses fit perfectly on Corey Stoll, whose foul-mouthed and undermining little jabs sound lifted right out of the TV show - but this time around, Uncle Junior is a mobster in his prime.
Moltisanti translates from Italian to 'many saints,' fitting as this prequel fleshes Dickie Moltisanti out as a fully realized character. Although Dickie's son Christopher (Michael Imperioi) is a main character in the original TV series, Dickie was always a vaguely defined character in the DiMeo crime family lore. Tony only hinted at Dickie's influence on him as a mentor and Christopher only had stories from other people (as Dickie was murdered when Christopher was a baby). 'Many Saints' finally reveals a man every bit as flawed as every other DiMeo made man. This is first and foremost Dickie Moltisanti's story - a man trying to be a good man, but with all the inclinations of a murderous mobster. He beams with pride as he describes his coaching stint with disabled children - yet he's entirely capable of murdering people close to him with his bare hands. Alessandro Nivola deserves a ton of credit for a performance that finds the perfect middle ground - a seemingly laid-back mobster and charming ladies man who can slip into a murderous rage with almost no warning. Nivola's exudes the "stand up guy" that Tony remembers - while the audience gets to see his darker side.
Plot-wise, 'Many Saints' leads the audience down one path ... only for the film to take a sharp, unexpected turn late the third act. The script goes to great lengths to establish strained relations between the New Jersey mafia and up-and-coming criminals in the African-American community. The script appears to build toward an eventual final confrontation between Harold McBrayer (Leslie Odom Jr) and Moltisanti - two men trying to cement their grasp on the illegal lottery scheme in Jersey. But audiences might be underwhelmed with the film's ultimate conclusion. The story very specifically and patiently builds the rivalry between McBrayer and Moltisanti - from simmering tension until it boils over into bloody violence ... only for 'Many Saints' to resolve everything in a somewhat surprising manner. But this is in true 'Sopranos' form - as the show itself was an understated inversion of the mob genre. It satiates the audience's expectation of bloodshed and violence - but inverts that expectation by having said violence be the result of some of the most trivial conflicts ever.
The marketing department has done 'Many Saints' no favors by selling the prequel as some sort of origin story for Tony Soprano. The one-sheet poster in movie theaters literally asks ‘Who Made Tony Soprano?’ - a question this film barely answers. At best, young Tony is a supporting character observing the criminal life from the sidelines.The 'Many Saints' script fails to truly connect Dickie's influence on Tony's future. This movie just doesn't draw a strong enough connection between teenage Tony Soprano (brilliantly played by James Gandolfini's son Michael), who only wants to play football and go to college, with his future mob boss self. If anything, the film could have benefited from less on-screen Tony Soprano - allowing the focus to stay on the morally conflicted Dickie.
Enough time has passed since the final episode of ‘The Sopranos’ that the show can be looked at with some nostalgia. It’s a beloved series with an iconic character anchored in one of the great TV performances of all time. To a certain extent ‘Many Saints’ is also an exercise in nostalgia - but with a deceptive dimension. While ‘Many Saints’ drops a ton of fun easter eggs for ‘Sopranos’ fans to enjoy, the whole film colors in a complex character who was recalled with some nostalgia by Tony. Fans finally get to see the human dimension of the ‘stand up guy’ that Tony admired.
Final verdict: 'Many Saints' adds to the DiMeo crime family lore with a gripping character study of a conflicted husband and killer - but anyone expecting a full-on Tony Soprano origin story will be disappointed.
Score: 3.5/5
'The Many Saints of Newark' opens in theaters Oct. 1. This drama is rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexual content and some nudity and has a running time of 120 minutes.
