At its core, King of New York seems to be a B-picture aspiring to A status, and I think that’s essential to what it’s trying to say. The story follows a drug lord who finishes serving a prison sentence and begins steadily taking over the drug trade with aims to fund an inner city hospital. It’s easy to read a Robin Hood parallel into the story, and that’s likely how the protagonist views himself, but actions on both sides of the law are carried out with unconvincing justifications, and it’s hard to ignore that the drug profits with which he intends to fund the hospital likely contribute to the health problems that create a need for a hospital in the first place. There’s a sense that the characters are stuck in and devoured by the systems they perpetuate, something that becomes quite explicit in the finale.
I find the film’s depiction of the drug trade quite interesting, especially how it plays up the race and class dimensions. All the black characters in the film are shown in subservient roles, and while the protagonist is distinguished among other drug lords as not being a racist, it seems that he contributes as much to their economic subjugation as his peers. The protagonist seems to be caught at once between two worlds and uneasily tries to fit into both (hence my B-movie dressed as A-movie metaphor). The scene where he is reunited with his crew plays like a geeky white guy awkwardly trying to fit in with the cool black guys, and he can be seen squirming uneasily while attending a play in an upper class milieu. That he doesn’t comfortably rest in either speaks to their enormous divisions.
This dynamic extends to the film’s style. I was unable to appreciate the film’s visuals to the fullest extent as I saw a pan-and-scan copy (why Netflix uploaded such a copy in this day and age is beyond me), but there’s some very striking lighting and undeniable sense of style in the images. However, the stylishness seems at odds with the film’s moodiness and grit (which may have been a result of budgetary constraints). The result is a low rent slickness that’s far too pretty to be a B-movie and not pretty enough for A-status, and nowhere is it more effectively employed than a shootout sequence bathed in blue that plays as a culmination of the film’s themes, with Schoolly D’s “Am I Black Enough For You” blaring on the soundtrack. The overall style lends the story an operatic feeling.
It’s hard to deny that the film both influenced and was influenced by gangsta rap aesthetics, but I don’t think it can be accused of glorifying violence and drugs. The violence in the film, while stylishly staged, is abrupt, explosive and uncomfortable (as evident in the aforementioned shootout and subsequent car chase). Again, the conflict between B-movie thrills and A-movie consequences is used to exhilarating effect.
What keeps the film from greatness is its script. Beyond the implications of its premise, the screenplay feels underwritten. The characters feel roughly sketched out and are mostly carried by the strength of the performances. Christopher Walken commands the screen effortlessly as the protagonist, Laurence Fishburne turns in a wonderfully volatile performance as one of his henchmen, and Victor Argo brings a quiet confidence to his role as the film’s moral centre. The plot also seems neglected, consisting a series of events that don’t have that strong a momentum. Arguably the conflict between the A-list cast and sense of style with the B-movie script feed into that dynamic, but I think the film would have been more compelling and its operatic dimensions much stronger had it better fleshed out its characters and plot. Still, I do think this is a good film and it’s definitely worth seeing.