American Gangster
2007USALanguage: EnglishDirected by Ridley Scott★ 7.6
Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.
Themes and style
Tone
cold and detachedbleaktensedark comedy
Pacing
methodicalescalatingslow burn
Story
investigationpursuitsurvivalunraveling
Emotion
loyalty under pressureredemptionfiguring out who you areguiltrage
Themes
class and moneycorrupt institutionspovertylife under oppressionfamily wounds passed downnational identity
Feel
cerebralrewatchablediscussion startercathartic
Violence
graphicWhere to watch
Foreign films like American Gangster
These foreign films share the same emotional core, themes, and structural feel as American Gangster. Every one of them has confirmed English subtitles or dubbing.
