THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK

15 FILM

OUT NOW CINEMAS

Covering the mid-’60s to early-’70s, this Sopranos prequel deftly establishes the world of hard violence and easy money that will come to sway Tony - here an NFL-wannabe schoolboy, superbly played by the late James Gandolfini’s son Michael. But the spotlight falls on Tony’s idol Dickie (Alessandro Nivola), whose volatility propels a plot that simmers with power struggles and racial tension. The narration-beyond-the-grave doesn’t fully work, but this is mostly gripping, darkly funny and deeply human: pure Sopranos, in other words.