When doing any kind of standalone film derived from a television series, the creators of said show invite an awful lot of risk. Sometimes, when it comes to cult series that have small yet fervent fan bases, such as Firefly/Serenity or Veronica Mars, the corresponding movie is a welcome addition to the canon. However, when dealing with a monumental piece of television like HBO’s The Sopranos, the expectations and proverbial bar are in the stratosphere. Therein lies the problem with The Many Saints of Newark: A Sopranos Story, a prequel film that tries to do a little too much with its source material. And while longtime devotees of the landmark mob/family drama will find moments and surprises to be excited about, the movie seems to rest on being not much more than excellent fan service.
Set in Newark, New Jersey and spanning from the late ‘60s to the early-mid ‘70s, the film is billed as the origin story of young Anthony Soprano before his rise as the Mafia kingpin of the Garden State. The teenaged Anthony is played by Michael Gandolfini, taking on the role that his late father James made certifiably iconic. But actually, the central character of the film is Tony’s mentor and father figure, Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), a high-ranking soldier in the DiMeo crime family. In the aftermath of the real-life 1967 Newark race riots, Dickie enters into a feud with former associate Harold McBrayer (Leslie Odom Jr.) when the latter begins to stake a claim in the predominantly Italian-American territory. Violence escalates quickly and gang warfare soon erupts between Dickie’s crew and Harold’s newly started, black-led crime operation. If that all sounds like too much story crammed into a slim two-hour runtime, that’s exactly because it is.
The Sopranos showrunner and creator David Chase is back on hand in The Many Saints of Newark as a producer and screenwriter. He has enlisted fellow series veterans Lawrence Konner to help write the script and Alan Taylor for directing duties. The pedigree and familiarity of those involved is what makes the film such an ultimate letdown, as we have seen these men help make the original show such remarkable television for seven glorious seasons. Many Saints tries to combined tell us both about Dickie’s story and Tony’s roots without giving us enough time and substance to fully absorb either.
That partially contributed to my initial confusion over Ray Liotta showing up in dual roles as Dickie’s father Richard and uncle Salvatore, who are identical twins. Not to say yours truly didn’t enjoy seeing Goodfellas’ Henry Hill himself be a part of this franchise, and Liotta is fantastic here regardless. But the hurried nature of the storytelling left me no time to even digest Dickie’s contentious relationship with both men. On the flip side, Tony’s father and fellow DiMeo family member Johnny Soprano (Jon Bernthal) becomes incarcerated almost instantaneously and seemingly out of the blue. This in turn sets up Dickie as the influencing idol that Tony looks up to during his adolescent years. Viewers will still get the gist of what the movie’s plot is about while watching, but Many Saints could have greatly benefited from some fleshing out of its story. Perhaps Chase and Co. should have gone the route of a season-long format or extended miniseries instead.
Undoubtedly, the acting and performances from the impressive cast are what make the film better than it should be. Nivola, a longtime actor with many independent and blockbuster credits to his name, is right at home in this world of organized crime as the charismatic yet temperamental Dickie. Projecting that aura of an ambitious and suave family man coming up in the ranks of his profession, you can easily buy into Anthony’s admiration for the man whom he wants to be just like. Tony award winner and recent Oscar nominee Odom Jr. (Hamilton, One Night in Miami) continues his hot streak, doing great work here as Dickie’s militant and calculating enemy. And young Gandolfini (who bears an eerily uncanny resemblance to his late father, complete with brooding stare) does the character of Tony great justice. Highly intelligent and a natural leader yet also acting rebelliously and not being academically motivated, Tony is still an impressionable teen falling under Dickie’s influence. Gandolfini nails all of these aspects and shares great chemistry with Nivola.
Younger versions of other favorite Sopranos characters also pop up, and longtime viewers of the show will get a kick out of seeing them. Ultimately, though, they prove to be mostly inconsequential to the plot of Many Saints and merely serve as pieces of fan service. However, seeing Junior (Corey Stoll), Silvio (John Magaro), and Paulie (Billy Magnussen) is a delight, and the actors do great with their limited time on screen. But the standout in this group is the excellent Vera Farmiga as Tony’s highly irritable and domineering mother, Livia. The veteran actress of The Departed, Bates Motel, and the Conjuring franchise pays amazing homage to the character’s original portrayer, the late Nancy Marchand, with her slight mannerisms and facial expressions. There are even instances of Livia showing early signs of her eventual mental illness and being combative with her son, and Farmiga is damn near perfect in this classic “mother from hell” role.
All of the previously mentioned performances and little Easter Eggs save The Many Saints of Newark: A Sopranos Story from being a complete disappointment. But the accelerated rate at which Dickie’s story and Tony’s origin are told does the movie no favors. That is always the risk one takes when making any kind of continuation–film or otherwise–of a legendary TV series: the viewers expect or even demand equal levels of greatness. David Chase and his team took a home run swing with their first at-bat in the film genre, but Many Saints deserved a lengthy nine innings to deliver a truly great game.
