Gangs of New York

Set in the turbulent mid-nineteenth century slums of lower Manhattan, the film follows Amsterdam Vallon, a young Irish immigrant who returns to the Five Points district seeking revenge against the powerful nativist gang leader Bill the Butcher, who murdered his father years earlier. Amsterdam insinuates himself into Bill's inner circle whilst concealing his true motives, but his loyalties become increasingly complicated as he gains the older man's respect and trust. The story unfolds against a backdrop of ethnic violence, political corruption, and the Draft Riots of the American Civil War era.