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Mean Streets (1973)
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Movie Review by Jarrod 
November 14th, 2007
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'Mean Streets' was Scorsese's first great film, far from his best, but it showed him in the stages of becoming a masterful director, honing his craft, in this semi-autobiographical story of Charlie (Harvey Keitel), who is trying to move up the ranks of the mob, headed by his uncle, Giovanni (Cesare Danova), who makes sure he earns his promotion, he doesn't get it just because he is family. Charlie is troubled by many complications and contradictions in his personal life. There is the relationship with Teresa (Amy Robinson), whom he loves, but must keep a secret, because his uncle disapproves of her, because she is epileptic, which he construes as a mental disorder. There is also his relationship with Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro), Teresa's cousin, a maddeningly stubborn, c*cky, and irresponsible punk who has gotten himself into some serious debt, to a loan shark named Michael (Richard Romanus).
Michael is a friend to Charlie, so he goes easy on Johnny Boy at first, but gets increasingly impatient about his failure to collect, so he warns Charlie about what might happen to Johnny if he doesn't get paid. This is something else Charlie wants to keep hidden from Giovanni, and he seeks to resolve the issue himself, by trying to talk some sense into Johnny, which proves futile. Johnny has no concerns about anything, he would probably rather just kill Michael and be rid of the problem altogether, and everywhere he goes, he gets Charlie in trouble, with his big mouth and bad attitude. Adding to this is Charlie's commitment to Catholicism, which bothers him, more so when he has sex with Teresa (as they are not married) than when he may engage in an act of murder, or some other crime.
Most intriguing about 'Mean Streets' is that Scorsese is establishing his greatness, which I noted earlier, but so are De Niro and Keitel, who would work with Scorsese on many more features, before he dumped them both for Leonardo DiCaprio. De Niro is undoubtedly the real revelation here, in an explosive and compelling performance. Keitel is more low-key, and one might wonder why Charlie chooses to help Johnny Boy out so often, even at such risk to himself, but we realize he loves him, like he loves Teresa, and this conflicts with his loyalties to his uncle and to the mafia itself. He understands Michael's position, and knows what loan sharks do to their non-paying clients, and he tries to protect Johnny as long as he can. Charlie is such a fascinating and complex character. The wonderful soundtrack is evocative of the time period.
'Mean Streets' was influential in the way it observes the mob from its lowest levels, this is not a portrait of the people at the top, and though we see Giovanni, and the respect that is afforded him, we see more of the men struggling to move up, foot soldiers who want to be generals, driven by ambition, and wishing to assert their own authority over others, to prove how tough they are. Michael wants to make sure that no one takes him for a fool or a soft touch; one wonders if Charlie is anything but a soft touch. And the dialogue, written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin, is truly authentic, very real, allows us to know clearly what these characters are thinking. It is amazing to think how much better Taxi Driver is than 'Mean Streets', made only three years later. Scorsese really must be a fast learner; his career went nowhere but up after this.
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