Washington Dominates in Dark Morality Tale

American cinema has had a long love affair with the image of the gangster. This stretches back to the black and white films of James Cagney, the epic Godfather trilogy, and the lurid "Scarface" of the 1980s.

"American Gangster," starring big-screen heart throbs Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, can be added to that list of gangster epics. The movie is directed by veteran director Ridley Scott, who has helmed screen classics like "Alien," "Black Hawk Down" and "Gladiator."

The movies describes the rise of fall of Frank Lucas, a legendary Harlem drug dealer who has the dubious distinction of popularizing the use of heroin in urban America. Lucas, played by the always charismatic Washington, is an unusual gangster. "American Gangster" portrays Lucas as more of a criminal CEO than a hoodlum. He wears business suits, rises at 5 a.m. to kick off the day at his favorite downtown coffee shop and tries to stay below the radar. He sees himself as a businessman; the product he happens to be selling is heroin. In recent years Denzel Washington has taken darker roles in movies like "Man on Fire" and more infamously in "Training Day" which won him an Oscar. Washington maybe trying to broaden his acting range, he may also be attracted to the juicy bad guy roles.

Washington has managed to pull this off, because even though he has played some nasty characters, his natural warmth and charm, occasionally peeks through his characters' grim deeds. "American Gangster" portrays Lucas both an honorable family man and a cold-blooded amoral drug dealer. One of the best scenes is when Lucas executes a rival in broad daylight and then calmly returns to breakfast with his brothers.

Set in the chaotic world of 1970s New York and Vietnam-era America, this movie has very few purely good guys. Russell Crowe, plays Ritchie Roberts, a narcotics cop who doggedly pursues Lucas over the course of many decades. But he is no knight in shining armor. Although he is an honorable cop, who walks away from pocketing $1 million in drug money, he neglects his family and associates with gangsters. In order to do his job well, Roberts has to descend into the grimy underworld and often comes back with dirt on his hands.

Crowe as usual turns in a competent performance as Roberts, but this is Washington's movie. He is the one we are drawn to, he is the one that we both loathe and fear, and in the end, he is the one who we care about.

"American Gangster" is most damning of the New York Police Department who are portrayed as corrupt bullies who often act worse than the criminals they are supposed to be apprehending. Josh Brolin chillingly portrays Trupo, a blatantly corrupt cop, who leads his gang of detectives as they pocket bribes, and rob drug dealers. What's most frightening about Trubo is he has the authority of the shield to cover up his misdeeds.

Crowe and Washington are not the only standout performances in "American Gangster." The movie also contains solid acting turns by Armand Assante, perfectly cast as a charming and terrifying Mafia don, and rappers Common and T.I., who play Lucas's wide-eyed brothers.

"American Gangster" is a complex movie, which raises the question about how drug dealing is portrayed in the movies. Most movies are morality tales which have a covert or overt message in them. Even though Frank Lucas rises to be a powerful and wealthy drug lord, the price he pays for his success is steep. After his conviction about three quarters of his family ends up going to jail for drug offenses. And Scott also briefly illustrates how heroin destroys families, ruins lives and eventually tears away at the glue holding society together.

"Scarface," written by Oliver Stone, was supposed to be a cautionary tale about the dangers of dabbling in the drug trade. The main protagonist Tony Montana starts with nothing and ends up with nothing. But over the years the "Scarface" character has become an anti-hero to people in the hip hop community and young males from urban areas. I'm not sure this was Stone's original intent.

Washington's Frank Lucas also come off as a seductive figure with his devil-may-care attitude to the police and Park Avenue lifestyle. One of the films few flaws is it fails to delve into Lucas' psyche to ask why he got involved in a business which was so destructive to his own community. The only glimpse we get into the genesis of Lucas' criminal lifestyle is a passionate speech towards the end of the movie where he explains the act of brutal violence that sent him down the wrong path.

"American Gangster" is a well-crafted movie, which has an important message. Let's hope that message does not get muddled over the years and in 20 years time we don't see young black males walking around in Frank Lucas T-shirts.