Scorsese's first personal movie is a gangster epic that has all the hallmarks of the director's tour-de-force style that would reappear later in his career: from the fresh tracking shots to the unnerving camera angles, particularly one sequence where a camera is strapped to Keitel and the viewer takes part as he stumbles into a drunken stupor. The only real difference between this film and later offerings like GOODFELLAS is the budget, which at this stage in Scorsese's career wasn't great. Nevertheless the director crafts a plot-heavy epic which really puts across a picture of life in the big city, possibly more so than his second collaboration with De Niro, TAXI DRIVER.
The film is quite slow-paced, which may be off-putting to some, and there isn't a great deal of the director's trademark violence to punctuate the more mundane moments as in his later movies – aside from the powerhouse climax, in which the red paint flows leaving the viewer feeling as if they've been punched in the face. Keitel is fantastic in the leading role and brings a real compassion to the part of the guy whose love for his friends gets him into serious trouble. However, as might be guessed, De Niro steals all his scenes here, as a small-time psycho who likes nothing better than to shoot his revolver from rooftops and beat up strangers on the street. De Niro is twitchy and deranged and scarily believable in this part, yet sympathetic at the same time too. He infuses his character with dynamism whilst at the same time invoking fear at the inescapable consequences of his actions. So, there you have mean streets: a typical enough gangster epic, infused with the energy of its young director and two stars, with enough originality, charisma, and hard-knuckle realism to make it a more than worthwhile watch.
The film is quite slow-paced, which may be off-putting to some, and there isn't a great deal of the director's trademark violence to punctuate the more mundane moments as in his later movies – aside from the powerhouse climax, in which the red paint flows leaving the viewer feeling as if they've been punched in the face. Keitel is fantastic in the leading role and brings a real compassion to the part of the guy whose love for his friends gets him into serious trouble. However, as might be guessed, De Niro steals all his scenes here, as a small-time psycho who likes nothing better than to shoot his revolver from rooftops and beat up strangers on the street. De Niro is twitchy and deranged and scarily believable in this part, yet sympathetic at the same time too. He infuses his character with dynamism whilst at the same time invoking fear at the inescapable consequences of his actions. So, there you have mean streets: a typical enough gangster epic, infused with the energy of its young director and two stars, with enough originality, charisma, and hard-knuckle realism to make it a more than worthwhile watch.