Now we skip
a few years. And an ocean – but I digress. What I like about Mean Steets – in
conjunction to this weeks’ entries that is, I like a lot of things about the
film but more of that in a sec – is that it is actually almost contemporary
with Call the Midwife. At a push they are just about 10 years apart. But they
both are, basically, a slice of life from impoverished, dangerous areas in two
countries literally across the pond from each other. If you think about it,
Johnny Boy or Charlie (ok, perhaps not Johnny Boy, but definitely Charlie)
could well be one of the husbands of Jenny Lee’s patients. What we have here,
you might say, is a simple reversal of perspective. Here however, there is no
benign convent and nuns watching over people. Here, it’s a dog eat dog world
and it’s really and truly every man for himself…
Charlie
(Harvey Keitel) only knows this too well. Of course this is America, you can
always build and live your dream, but in Little Italy, it can be a bit harder
to do that than your average neighbourhood. Luckily Charlie knows how to use
his head. And he has the right connections in the shape of his uncle Giovanni,
an influential man in the neighbourhood, a businessman and unofficial
moneylender. Giovanni likes Charlie a lot and is even considering making him
manager of one of his restaurants, a job that Charlie dreams of and that would
secure him for life. However, Charlie is a man torn between his head and his
heart. Although his head shows him clearly what path to follow to become a “big
man” of the neighbourhood like Giovanni, Charlie’s heart leads him directly to
his distant cousin Teresa of whom Giovanni does not approve (on the grounds
that she is “sick in the head” i.e. has epilepsy). That could be sidestepped,
albeit with difficulty, if they manage to keep the relationship under the
radar, which Charlie is doing despite loud protests from Teresa. But then
there’s Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro). Charlie’s young, irresponsible and
slightly mad cousin is nothing but trouble. Johnny Boy owes money to the entire
neighbourhood and has neither a glimmer of hope of paying it back nor an ounce
of respect for anyone. He is, as you can imagine, constantly in and out of
trouble and heading straight for a very sticky end. If he wants to achieve his own dreams Charlie
may well have to stop bailing him out and concentrate on his own life. But
that’s the problem with these head – heart conflicts you see…
This film
is, of course, one of Martin Scorsese’s first films. But even so early on we
can see the themes the cast and the style that will preoccupy Martin Scorsese
for most of his career. This particular film is not for the most part quite as
“hard hitting” as his later films. But in a funny kind of way, I like that.
Yes, there is a very clear storyline, but the style of the film is a clever
mix; that of a fly on the wall documentary mixed with a commercial film. So
events unfurl a lot more slowly and less predictably then they would in your
“average” Hollywood flic. This also matches Johnny Boy’s character very well, I
guess the character in his early twenties (De Niro is 30 at the time but as you
know that means very little in the world of film) and in any case Johnny Boy
has the level of responsibility of a particularly air-headed 12 year old. He
lives with utter disregard for the consequences of his actions and that means
things can “erupt” at pretty much any moment. In short, be prepared for
surprises.
This is, in
fact, the classic story of a main character caught between his heart and his
logic. Here the pull of the heart is twofold, because not only does Charlie
desperately want to help Johnny Boy out, there is the matter of the woman he
loves, Teresa. The dynamic there is also interesting because all Teresa wants
is to get out of Little Italy, get a nice little flat and have a quiet life.
Charlie however, is determined he will become a man of the neighbourhood. And
leaving Little Italy is categorically out of the question. So already we see
the strong feel of “neighbourhood” present in a lot of Scorsese films. Here,
perversely it almost acts as the ultimate curse that brings Charlie down. To be
fair, he would have had a calmer life if he had gone along with Teresa’s plan.
Ah, but would their story then be worth making a film about? That, my dears, is
a totally different story all together…
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