This film earned 10 Oscar nominations,
and it is no mystery why. In one of the
best films of the year, Golden
Globe-nominated director Martin
Scorsese brilliantly conveys the
emotional turmoil, political strife,
democratic developments and Mafia
origins of mid-19th-century America.
While the focus of the historical fiction
centers around a young boy determined
to avenge the violent murder of his father
slain during the infamous massacre at
Five Points, Scorsese includes pertinent
subplots of Americas reactions to
moments in history such as Lincolns
abolishment of slavery, draft riots and the
corrupt Tammany Hall era. Daniel
Day-Lewis chilling portrayal as Bill the
Butcher, a Don Corleone of his time, and
Cameron Diazs layered performance as
the loveable but deceitful pickpocket
earned each actor a Golden Globe
nomination. If the Golden Globe Awards
offered technical categories, the
magnificent efforts of production designer
Dante Ferretti, who magically recreated
an authentic-looking New York City of
1846, and cinematographer Michael
Ballhaus, who added effective dramatic
lighting and tinting to convey the dismal
moods of the time, would raise the films
nomination total to seven.