"Mean Streets" When will the beat generation end?

Compared with "The Godfather", "Mean Streets" is not a gangster film in the strict sense. Although there are violence, shootings, gangs, and criminal transactions in it, it is at best a gangster film. It can be regarded as a social issue drama. Scorsese, who was born in the "Little Italy" area (where a large number of descendants of Italian immigrants live), benefited from his childhood exposure and was able to make this film aimed at the bottom of American society. It is so delicate that it seems as if we have just met these people on the street corner.

The three male protagonists in the film can only be regarded as small gangsters. They are the same as our verbal gangsters. They are poor, live chaotic lives, and are rebellious and impulsive. They often pretend to be well-informed black marketeers to defraud people. The boy's money, and they would often fight over it for five or ten dollars. Among them, Charlie's situation is better. He has an uncle who really belongs to the gang. This uncle promised to give him a high-end restaurant that is on the verge of bankruptcy. Fundamentally speaking, Charlie is a stickler for traditional morality. He is righteous and brotherly. , helped Johnny out again and again, and he also had a lover. For this reason, he was willing to take the risk of resisting his uncle to maintain this relationship. Love has a very heavy weight in Charlie's heart, but the person who eats this bowl of rice may No longer clinging to this ancient legacy, because this will inevitably bring some devastating blow to his "career". Scorsese pointed out this point unsubtly. At the end, Charlie was seriously injured and may also be exposed to the scandal. Being abandoned by his uncle, his only supporter in life, another characteristic of this character is that he has a loyal belief. He is a loyal believer. With this role, Scorsese successfully implanted the religious feelings that he has always been keen to express. In this film, Charlie abides by principles and never breaks the rules. When Johnny once again bumped into his kind creditor, Charlie was so angry that he jumped up and beat him. Compared with the conservative and pragmatic Charlie, Johnny has more of a "gangster" spirit. He is impulsive, rebellious, loves to make trouble, and is never tired of provoking others. In this story, he provokes all conflicts, but he never understands. Wiping his own butt, throughout the entire film, he has been just like a restless flea. Although he has been stirring up trouble, he still cannot change the tone of the entire film, because for such a character, his failure cannot move people. People can't even be perceived by people. Scorsese arranged a "dying struggle" for him at the end of the film, which made the fate of this character dramatic, but in the end, as we could predict at the first glance when we first saw him , the man could never escape the mean streets. Compared with the first two, Tony's presence is much weaker. His greatest contribution is to use his bar to provide the place where the contradictions in the story occur, and use his car to provide the place where the contradictions in the story are resolved. In my impression, He is a down-to-earth bar owner, not a quasi-gangster who can't help but wonder "Where is the road ahead?"