The Many Saints of ‘Newark’ | The Sopranos Prequel

[Captain Tired]

I've seen a lot of reviews that suggest that Farmiga brings out more Carmela than she does Livia. And while that's interesting for the Freudian implications of Carmela and Tony later getting together, I really hope they don't skimp on Livia's hilariously dysfunctional (and evil!) ways. She was always my favourite character for those exact reasons. I prefer to think that she was pretty much always like that and that it wasn't just a matter of her children's perspectives being retroactively tainted by how she acted in old age.

All this isn't to act like Carmela was a goody-goody saint or anything, but she certainly never acted purposefully or consciously evil towards her kids like Livia did.

 

[BeserkerHilf]

I've seen a lot of reviews that suggest that Farmiga brings out more Carmela than she does Livia. And while that's interesting for the Freudian implications of Carmela and Tony later getting together, I really hope they don't skimp on Livia's hilariously dysfunctional (and evil!) ways. She was always my favourite character for those exact reasons. I prefer to think that she was pretty much always like that and that it wasn't just a matter of her children's perspectives being retroactively tainted by how she acted in old age.

All this isn't to act like Carmela was a goody-goody saint or anything, but she certainly never acted purposefully or consciously evil towards her kids like Livia did.

I think you mean Oedipal, right?

 

[Captain Tired]

The Oedipus complex falls under the Freudian school of thought, yes...

The word chosen was exactly the word I meant to use.

 

[TheFuture]

I've seen a lot of reviews that suggest that Farmiga brings out more Carmela than she does Livia. And while that's interesting for the Freudian implications of Carmela and Tony later getting together, I really hope they don't skimp on Livia's hilariously dysfunctional (and evil!) ways. She was always my favourite character for those exact reasons. I prefer to think that she was pretty much always like that and that it wasn't just a matter of her children's perspectives being retroactively tainted by how she acted in old age.

All this isn't to act like Carmela was a goody-goody saint or anything, but she certainly never acted purposefully or consciously evil towards her kids like Livia did.

Not for me, Vera is on point here as a young Livia; a melting pot of mental health about to go down the toilet while showing brief flashes of wanting to be a good mother. I really loved her portrayal and also Bernthal's from the little we see. That's the shame about the film as this stuff could have been fleshed out much more. I was very interested in the race subplot but it really doesn't go anywhere and ultimately ends up distracting from the interesting things going on. It's superficial to the story at best.

Can't wait to discuss the film anyway once everyone sees it. One particular moment I'm bursting to talk about.

 

[Captain Tired]

Well that's very encouraging to hear, @TheFuture

Although even hearing that there are brief flashes of her wanting to be a good mother is ever so slightly appalling to my perceptions of Livia lol. I think she's one of those few character who's better off for not having any shades of grey. Even a total scumbag like Ralph still cared about the wellbeing of his kid, but Livia was perfectly willing to have her own flesh and blood murdered and showed no signs of regret or hesitation. Eagerness, if anything.

Literally the only time I think she meant well in the series proper was when she gave misguidedly gave AJ that very nihilistic word of advice (it's all a big nothing!).

 

[Slick]

Ok so I was going to see this next Friday morning but me and a friend are going to see Venom 2 at 1:30 pm instead.

Now I’m going to watch Many Saints at 9:55 later that night. Going to be a pretty fun day.

 

[Slick]

The main complaints I seem to read in the reviews is that it should of been a limited series. Maybe if the movie’s successful then David Chase would consider doing a sequel mini series.

 

[TheFuture]

The main complaints I seem to read in the reviews is that it should of been a limited series. Maybe if the movie’s successful then David Chase would consider doing a sequel mini series.

Based on his interviews, he was insistent this was a movie and seemed to have a chip on his shoulder that it could end up on HBO Max.

The problem is that it's not a movie. It's exploding with ideas and a lot of them don't have time to breath. There's one particular thing that happens early on that felt like it should have been the culmination of a season long arc, after the 2 characters have been jousting for a long time.

The chance to turn it into a tv show has been missed at this point IMO. That's not say they can't go down other avenues but there's not much more to say in regards this particular story.

 

[Broseph44]

HBO is marathoning the entire series right now before the film releases Friday.

 

[Pennywise]

Yes, Michael Gandolfini Would Love To Keep Playing Tony Soprano

 

[Prison Mike]

Overall it was a pretty enjoyable film. It’s been a while since I’ve seen The Sopranos so some of the characters are a bit fuzzy to me (they weren’t too important to the main story). The ending scene with the theme song playing got me pumped though. I might have to do a rewatch of the show now.

 

[Drizzle]

I thought this was pretty good. A worthy prequel to the show even if it never got to the same level as some of the best episodes. Nivola and Gandolfini were the standouts here. I also thought that Bernthal, Farmiga, Stoll and Leslie Odom Jr. were good too but it felt like they weren’t given a whole lot to do. That said though, Stoll and Farmiga both did pretty impeccable jobs at channeling Junior and Livia from the show.

 

[Slick]

I’m glad you guys liked it. I’m about to see it In an hour so can’t wait.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I really enjoyed this aswell and while its not on the same level as something like Goodfellas I definitely got those vibes throughout and this cast did a great job capturing the characters we all know and love from the show.

Michael Gandolfini does such a fantastic job in this nailing all the mannerisms of his father and I'm sure he would be proud seeing how well they handled the origin of Tony Soprano.

I do wish Jon Bernthal was given a bit more to do though, but I really liked his chemistry with Vera Farmiga and it made sense seeing this story from the perspective of Dickie Moltisanti.

Alessandro Nivola is great in the role and is such an underrated, character actor IMO.

 

[Slick]

Yeah this movie was great. All the cast fit their roles and yes Michael honored his father and Alessandro was amazing. Seeing all the details and Easter egg was cool. They ending gave me chills.

 

[Slick]

Also

Spoiler

I guess Junior was always a bastard

 

[OutOfBoose]

I feel mixed about it. It doesn't develop anything enough and is more like a collection of callbacks.

Michela De Rossi is stunning, though.

 

[TheVileOne]

Some good acting on display. Some good direction, but bad writing, badly disjointed plot. A lot of subplots that don't really go anywhere.

The actor who portrayed Silvio was terrible. Literally terrible. SNL impressions are better than this. It was a total and complete caricature. The fact that Chase and Taylor allowed that is laughable.

Secondly, the actor they got to play Silvio is 38 years old. Silvio is not much older than Tony Soprano, and didn't they grow up together? This continuity makes no sense.

 

[DKDetective]

Some good acting on display. Some good direction, but bad writing, badly disjointed plot. A lot of subplots that don't really go anywhere.

The actor who portrayed Silvio was terrible. Literally terrible. SNL impressions are better than this. It was a total and complete caricature. The fact that Chase and Taylor allowed that is laughable.

Secondly, the actor they got to play Silvio is 38 years old. Silvio is not much older than Tony Soprano, and didn't they grow up together? This continuity makes no sense.

The continuity makes no sense in general. Tony should be like 8 years old at the time of the film. It totally messes with the whole generational brilliance and commentary of the original series.

Tony was supposed to be the same age and generation as my Dad, which had a lot of impact on the themes and storylines. There is a good difference between the late Boomers who were teens in the 70s and the earlier ones who were at risk of being sent to Nam among other issues. Tony very much represented the later group.

 

[weezerspider]

Some good acting on display. Some good direction, but bad writing, badly disjointed plot. A lot of subplots that don't really go anywhere.

The actor who portrayed Silvio was terrible. Literally terrible. SNL impressions are better than this. It was a total and complete caricature. The fact that Chase and Taylor allowed that is laughable.

Secondly, the actor they got to play Silvio is 38 years old. Silvio is not much older than Tony Soprano, and didn't they grow up together? This continuity makes no sense.

I seemed to like the film a good bit more than you, but I actually think that’s what holds this thing back. It’s so blandly directed. There’s no consistent style or rhythm to the work. There are scenes that change perspectives for no reason. It definitely feels too big for Alan Taylor. I know he directed a ton of great Sopranos episodes, but his resume with feature films is pretty bad. I don’t think he was the right person for this. It would have been better if Chase directed it himself, but he couldn’t due to health issues regarding his wife.

 

[TheVileOne]

I seemed to like the film a good bit more than you, but I actually think that’s what holds this thing back. It’s so blandly directed. There’s no consistent style or rhythm to the work. There are scenes that change perspectives for no reason. It definitely feels too big for Alan Taylor. I know he directed a ton of great Sopranos episodes, but his resume with feature films is pretty bad. I don’t think he was the right person for this. It would have been better if Chase directed it himself, but he couldn’t due to health issues regarding his wife.

Well I want to give him a bit of slack because I know that lot of material was left on the cutting room floor and this was whittled down to two hours. I want to think he had a more cohesive vision in mind but he was basically Chase's hired gun here.

 

[TheVileOne]

The continuity makes no sense in general. Tony should be like 8 years old at the time of the film. It totally messes with the whole generational brilliance and commentary of the original series.

Tony was supposed to be the same age and generation as my Dad, which had a lot of impact on the themes and storylines. There is a good difference between the late Boomers who were teens in the 70s and the earlier ones who were at risk of being sent to Nam among other issues. Tony very much represented the later group.

Yeah but how is Silvio already a full grown adult with daughters that are Tony's age?

 

[DKDetective]

Yeah but how is Silvio already a full grown adult with daughters that are Tony's age?

Umm, I'm agreeing with you that it is a sloppy mess that makes no sense. Silvio's daughter was the same age as Meadow in the series. (See the soccer episode)

 

[Detective Conan]

I’ll be watching this movie today on HBO Max after work. I’m well aware of critiques of the film so I’ll keep my expectations in check. I’m not expecting a masterpiece, but I hope I end up enjoying the movie.

 

[TheVileOne]

Umm, I'm agreeing with you that it is a sloppy mess that makes no sense. Silvio's daughter was the same age as Meadow in the series. (See the soccer episode)

OK so closer in age to Tony than Silvio is. My understanding is that Tony was born two years after Silvio