American Me
2.5/4
Starring: Edward James Olmos, Evalina Fernandez, William Forsythe, Daniel Villarreal, Danny De La Paz
Rated R for Strong Violence and Sensuality, Language and Drug Content
I'll give Edward James Olmos credit for one thing: he chose a difficult project for his directorial debut (aside from one episode of "Miami Vice"). The story of the rise and fall of a Chicano gang leader is a complex and deep story, one that would try the talents of many actors, writers and directors. Unfortunately, Olmos doesn't have the directorial prowess that Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorcese have (they, of course, directed "The Godfather" trilogy and "Goodfellas," two films that Olmos is clearly trying to emulate here).
Olmos tells the story of Santana (played by Panchito Gomez as a teenager, and Olmos himself as an adult). As a kid, he and two friends, JD (Steve Wilcox) and Mundo (Richard Coca), started a gang in order to get respect. After taking a back alley home, they run into another gang, and take refuge in a closed bar. Arrested for the crime, they are sent to juvenile detention. There, Santana is brutally raped by another boy (played by Eric Close, who would later go on to star as an FBI agent in "Without a Trace"), and in an act of revenge, kills his attacker. Now with his future in the adult prison set in stone, Santana and his friends have found the respect that they are looking for. By the time they are adults, their gang extends to both sides of the prison walls. Santana is feared and respected by just about everyone. It isn't until he is released that he realizes that this may not be the idyllic way to live life.
"American Me" touches on a lot of subjects: how prison life breeds criminals who are more extreme when released than they were when they went in, race relations, the need for redemption, the realities of social and economic inequality, and so on. Needless to say, a film with this breadth and depth needs room to breathe. Olmos' film clocks in at a hair over two hours. No one, not even Scorcese or Coppola, could have told this story in two hours (for the record, "The Godfather" movies and "Goodfellas" ran close to 3 hours a piece, give or take about 10-20 mins). This is one of those movies that probably should have been a miniseries.
If that were the only problem with the film, it would probably still be worth seeing. Alas, "American Me's" problems run deeper than that. Character development is minimal. Apart from Santana, and to a lesser extent, his girlfriend Julie (Fernandez) and another gang member named Little Puppet (Villarreal), we don't know anyone. For characters who start out as central to the film, JD and Mundo (played by Forsythe and Pepe Serna as adults), have almost no screen time once the film shifts to Folsom Prison.
Still, there is some effective acting to be found in this film. Edward James Olmos, who is best known as Commander Bill Adama from the "Battlestar Gallactica" reboot, is very good as Santana. He's smart, and makes his moves like a military strategist. But as Julie puts it, he's two people: a ruthless gang lord and a sensitive and intelligent human being. Olmos doesn't miss a beat. As Julie, Evalina Fernandez is his equal. Spending time with her is enough to make even the most hardened criminal rethink their life. Considering what she has to work with, the actress's multi-layered performance is much better than you'd think. Also worth mentioning is Daniel Villarreal, who plays Little Puppet. He doesn't have a lot of screen time, and his character isn't particularly important, but his performance as the young kid whose whole life has been in the gang is memorable.
This is a story that Olmos wanted to tell, and it's worth telling. Just not in this movie.
Starring: Edward James Olmos, Evalina Fernandez, William Forsythe, Daniel Villarreal, Danny De La Paz
Rated R for Strong Violence and Sensuality, Language and Drug Content
I'll give Edward James Olmos credit for one thing: he chose a difficult project for his directorial debut (aside from one episode of "Miami Vice"). The story of the rise and fall of a Chicano gang leader is a complex and deep story, one that would try the talents of many actors, writers and directors. Unfortunately, Olmos doesn't have the directorial prowess that Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorcese have (they, of course, directed "The Godfather" trilogy and "Goodfellas," two films that Olmos is clearly trying to emulate here).
Olmos tells the story of Santana (played by Panchito Gomez as a teenager, and Olmos himself as an adult). As a kid, he and two friends, JD (Steve Wilcox) and Mundo (Richard Coca), started a gang in order to get respect. After taking a back alley home, they run into another gang, and take refuge in a closed bar. Arrested for the crime, they are sent to juvenile detention. There, Santana is brutally raped by another boy (played by Eric Close, who would later go on to star as an FBI agent in "Without a Trace"), and in an act of revenge, kills his attacker. Now with his future in the adult prison set in stone, Santana and his friends have found the respect that they are looking for. By the time they are adults, their gang extends to both sides of the prison walls. Santana is feared and respected by just about everyone. It isn't until he is released that he realizes that this may not be the idyllic way to live life.
"American Me" touches on a lot of subjects: how prison life breeds criminals who are more extreme when released than they were when they went in, race relations, the need for redemption, the realities of social and economic inequality, and so on. Needless to say, a film with this breadth and depth needs room to breathe. Olmos' film clocks in at a hair over two hours. No one, not even Scorcese or Coppola, could have told this story in two hours (for the record, "The Godfather" movies and "Goodfellas" ran close to 3 hours a piece, give or take about 10-20 mins). This is one of those movies that probably should have been a miniseries.
If that were the only problem with the film, it would probably still be worth seeing. Alas, "American Me's" problems run deeper than that. Character development is minimal. Apart from Santana, and to a lesser extent, his girlfriend Julie (Fernandez) and another gang member named Little Puppet (Villarreal), we don't know anyone. For characters who start out as central to the film, JD and Mundo (played by Forsythe and Pepe Serna as adults), have almost no screen time once the film shifts to Folsom Prison.
Still, there is some effective acting to be found in this film. Edward James Olmos, who is best known as Commander Bill Adama from the "Battlestar Gallactica" reboot, is very good as Santana. He's smart, and makes his moves like a military strategist. But as Julie puts it, he's two people: a ruthless gang lord and a sensitive and intelligent human being. Olmos doesn't miss a beat. As Julie, Evalina Fernandez is his equal. Spending time with her is enough to make even the most hardened criminal rethink their life. Considering what she has to work with, the actress's multi-layered performance is much better than you'd think. Also worth mentioning is Daniel Villarreal, who plays Little Puppet. He doesn't have a lot of screen time, and his character isn't particularly important, but his performance as the young kid whose whole life has been in the gang is memorable.
This is a story that Olmos wanted to tell, and it's worth telling. Just not in this movie.
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