My second Abel Ferrara film after
‘Bad Lieutenant’ and it seems like he’s Martin Scorsese of low budget cinema.
That wouldn’t be right, since he’s more raw, darker, shocking and disturbing
than Scorsese’s much lauded screen violence. Both Scorsese and Ferrara persistently shown the strong
emphasis towards theme of crime and redemption in their films. Ferrara ’s ‘King of New York’ released in the
same year of ‘Goodfellas’. Unlike Scorsese’s that much mass appreciated
underworld epic that shows the rise and fall of gangster, Ferrara’s film
focused on vehement chronicle of the mob boss Frank White, who after years of
illegal activity decide to transform and decides to build a hospital for
community. But this raise strong repercussion from rival gangs, cops and
partners in crime. This encounter hostile resistance from every side and his
futile efforts triggered a new chapter of violence in the city with bloody
showdown.
As I said the film is violent,
shocking and portrays darker side of city full of ethnic and racial
confrontation in the world of crime. And amid all this Ferrara highlighted the theme of one man’s
introspective phase towards redemption, which he took to the next level in his
‘Bad Lieutenant’. Christopher Walken gave one of his tour de force performance
in lead and Laurence Fishburne as his henchman Jimmy Jump contribute something
to frantic energy of the film. The film grew more and more intense in the second
half with brewing tension and on your face violence and it’s indeed as
brilliant as one expect from films belong to genre like this.
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