King of New York (1990) New Line/Drama-Thriller RT: 103 minutes Rated R (strong violence and language, drug use, nudity) Director: Abel Ferrara Screenplay: Nicholas St. John Music: Joe Delia Cinematography: Bojan Bazelli Release date: September 28, 1990 (US) Cast: Christopher Walken, Larry Fishburne, David Caruso, Victor Argo, Wesley Snipes, Janet Julian, Joey Chin, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Calderon, Steve Buscemi, Theresa Randle, Leonard Lee Thomas, Roger [Guenveur] Smith, Carrie Nygren, James Lorinz, Ernest Abuba, Frank Gio, Frank Adonis, Vanessa Angel, Freddie Jackson, Ariane. Box Office: $2.5M (US)
Rating: *** ½
It’s easy to understand how Abel Ferrara’s gangster drama King of New York slipped through the cracks in fall ’90, I just don’t know why. It’s an outstanding film. It was released one week after Martin Scorsese’s brilliant Goodfellas and one week before the Coen Brothers’ period gangster piece Miller’s Crossing and the underrated Irish mob drama State of Grace. It’s only natural with this many similarly themed movies in such a short space of time, one or two will go ignored by audiences. Call it a case of gangster overload.
As far as I know, King of New York wasn’t released widely. It didn’t open in Philly, that I know for sure. I didn’t see it until the following January when I got my hands on a VHS screener copy. As a fan of Christopher Waken, I was dying to see it. It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I wasn’t disappointed either. Quite the opposite, I was rather impressed by what Ferrara did with it. Think of King of New York as a precursor to New Jack City. To wit, it’s neo-noir that moves to a hip-hop beat.
Walken plays Frank White, a drug lord just released from prison seeking to seize control of New York’s criminal underworld. With the help of his mostly black crew led by Jimmy Jump (Fishburne, Boyz n the Hood), they proceed to eliminate the competition which includes a Colombian drug kingpin and the local Mafia boss. After that, Frank tries to make a deal with a Chinese Triad leader (Chin, China Girl) for $15 million in cocaine. He wants to raise the necessary funds to keep an inner city hospital open after it’s threatened with closure by an arrogant politician (Smith, Do the Right Thing). He’s a gangster with good intentions.
Unfortunately for Frank and his guys, there’s the small matter of the NYPD detective squad- Bishop (Argo, Taxi Driver), Gilley (Caruso, China Girl) and Flanigan (Snipes, New Jack City)- determined to put him back in prison despite his philanthropistic intentions. They resent Frank for his lavish lifestyle while they live a working-class existence. After their initial lawful methods fail to produce the desired results, they resort to unlawful actions with fatal consequences for both sides.
I’ll grant that King of New York has some screenplay deficiencies. It shirks its duties in not providing certain story details, developing certain characters and explaining relationships more clearly. For example, what about the two women besides lawyer/lover Jennifer (Julian, Fear City) always in the company of Frank? I’m fairly certain they’re bodyguards, but it’s never definitely established. And why is it nobody seems to notice or care that Frank’s gang is mostly black? Moreover, what is it about him that makes them willing to work for him? Then we have the cops. Aside from righteous indignation over criminals making more money than they do as cops, they’re fairly one-dimensional. It’d be nice to know more about Snipes’ character and his acceptance by his predominantly Irish colleagues. It looks like he’s married to a white woman, but this detail, like a few others, is vague.
This is all decidedly frustrating, especially in a movie this filled with ambition, but Ferrara compensates for the story weakness with scenes of raw power and energy not to mention a stellar cast led by Walken in a truly one-of-a-kind performance. Nobody plays a villain like Walken, one of the most magnetic actors in the industry. Nobody delivers lines like he does. He plays Frank with equal parts charm and danger. He’s a drug dealer and a killer who’s always able to morally justify his murderous actions. The most telling scene about Frank is when he’s approached by muggers on a subway. He stays calm, simply opening his jacket to show them his gun as he pulls out a huge wad of cash. He tosses it to them and tells them to come see him at the Plaza if they’re interested in work. Indeed, they do come to see him. Fishburne is also good as Frank’s main guy, a brazen show-off who throws money around in a fast food chicken joint oblivious to the cops coming to bust him. As per usual, Caruso overacts to the hilt. I just love this guy’s style.
The best parts of King of New York are the scenes of violence. They’re at once raw, stylized and outlandish. Fishburne’s gold chain-wearing street hoodlum wields dual pistols like he’s in a John Woo actioner from Hong Kong. One of the best sequences is a nightclub shoot-out between hoods and cops that turns into a wild chase. I also like the part where Frank’s gang pulls a surprise attack in Chinatown. A killing at a cemetery is shocking in its absolute brutality and brazenness. I could cite many such scenes, but why spoil it?
What I will tell you is that Ferrara directs with his usual gritty style plus an added dash of flash courtesy of Bojan Bazelli’s crisp cinematography. It’s a study in stark contrasts with scenes in swanky apartments giving way to derelict crack houses. Ferrara’s films are anything but commercial which I suspect is one of the reasons New Line opted not to go wide with King of New York. It’s not your usual gangster flick. Aided by Nicholas St. John’s strong screenplay, Ferrara shows the seductiveness of Frank’s lifestyle without denying its poisonous essence. He also depicts a world of clashing opposites, one populated by colorful morally ambiguous characters, none of whom are wholly good or bad.
Not everybody responds to Ferrara’s unique filmmaking style, at least not positively. He can be confounding. I haven’t liked all his films myself (I HATE Dangerous Game!) but when he’s good, he’s great! King of New York is one of the greats.
