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The Many Ain’ts Of The Many Saints Of Newark

On October 1st, HBO debuted the long awaited prequel to The Sopranos, called The Many Saints Of Newark. While the production is well shot and somewhat well cast, The Sopranos it ain’t.

Perhaps not since the Star Trek franchise recast characters from the original series run, have the stakes been as high. Michael Gandolfini took the brunt of that scrutiny by stepping into the role of Tony Soprano, made famous by his late father, James Gandolfini. As a young teenaged Tony, Michael Gandolfini essentially nails the character with nuance rather than the bombast his father demonstrated after Tony had made his bones in later years. Other standouts include Jon Bernthal (who isn’t given much to do), Vera Farmiga (as Tony’s volatile mother), and John Magaro (as Silvio).

Leslie Odom Jr. has a somewhat meaty role here and he does everything he can with it. The fact that his character comes off as a pivot point for the storyline makes his effort seem like it is held back. Odom’s character could have filled a movie of his own without being relegated to a background character who seems to live to facilitate the story which is set in Newark amidst racial hostilities in a crime-riddled community. 

Dickie Moltisanti is the protagonist here. He’s the father of Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli portrayed Christopher in the series and also provides some voiceover in this film). Dickie also serves as a surrogate father to young Tony Soprano while his own father is unavailable. Alessandro Nivola has a lot of gravitas in this role. He isn’t lacking for personality but his mannerisms feel a bit out of place and at times, too cartoonish for the subtlety of The Sopranos. His portrayal seems more Andrew “Dice” Clay than it does Sopranos-esque especially in the 1960-70s setting.

Junior Soprano is portrayed by the always standout, Corey Stoll. He lays the groundwork for much of the angst his character later (?) demonstrates in the series. Stoll’s Junior has a “who me?” quality in a crowded room only to show hair trigger anger a split second later. The actor even throws in some laughable moments in an otherwise dark story.

Michela De Rossi as Giussepina shows more evolution than most of the characters in the film. She immigrates from Italy hoping for a storybook life in America. Instead, she settles into a life of broken promises and physical abuse at the hands of Aldo Moltisanti and later, his son. She moves from wide-eyed beauty queen to a calculated and conniving existence simply trying to survive.

Ray Liotta is underutilized and makes a confusing and poorly explained reappearance after disappearing early in the film. His role almost feels like an afterthought.

Saints misses plenty of opportunities to further develop characters who are unavoidably known to fans of The Sopranos. Setting the storyline against the fiery backdrop of race riots in Newark only serves to distract from the stories each of the characters brings to the mix. The Sopranos was always about the interaction between the key players. It didn’t need to feature historic eras to attract attention. Perhaps those character stories weren’t what the filmmakers wanted to tell? Fair enough. It just isn’t clear if they succeeded in telling the other stories they began telling here either.

Expectations are astronomical when you associate a film with an established brand like The Sopranos. Maybe there is no way to satisfy the appetite of someone coming to The Many Saints Of Newark who is invested in the core Sopranos brand? I’m just not sure that the story would stand up independently without that star to hitch itself to. Hopefully some of this serves as a nucleus for another story (or stories) to be told in this time and place.

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