Abel Ferrara
King Of New York

THE REVIEW

Frank White has just been released from prison. The taxi that retraces the city to take him home grants him the grace of the view of New York, his beloved New York. Soft lights in the distance, silent streets, the metropolis that sleeps. Frank's eyes see this again after so much, too much time.

Life begins anew after years of imprisonment and solitude, but the city has remained the same: crime, drugs, rival factions vying for supremacy with gunfire. Frank White (an extraordinary Christopher Walken) can't resist it all. It's in his nature, it's everything he did before losing his freedom. But the same New York he loves, that is intimately part of him, no longer wants him. Neither do the various criminal organizations, who see him as a threat, nor do the police, especially Dennis (a young David Caruso) and Bishop (Victor Argo).

This is the basic premise of "King of New York," a film directed by Abel Ferrara, a filmmaker who has learned to be loved thanks to his noteworthy, hard-hitting works, far from the Hollywood limelight. "King of New York" is no exception: a work that delves into the criminal underbelly of multiracial and violent New York, with the portrayal of a police organization unprepared to tackle the problem of various mafias. An investigative gangster film, a social thriller, which besides offering an overview of these "engaging" themes, does not miss the essence of films of this genre: action, shootouts, the purely adrenaline-pumping side. In this sense, it is worth noting a very long sequence of bullets at the end of the film: the whole unfolds in the darkness of New York's underbelly. Crucial for this scene, and for the entire development of the film, is the work of Bojan Bazelli, the director of photography. Dark tones, nocturnal sequences, vibrant colors, blinding lights: a psychedelic New York, violent even in its exterior aspect.

"King of New York" is a visually interesting film and perfectly shot. Ferrara opts for a more thoughtful first part and a more dynamic second. A progression that perhaps excessively breaks the film's rhythm, but it's a venial sin in the economy of a truly noteworthy film. A film to rediscover, if only for a Christopher Walken at his highest levels.