Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York follows Amsterdam Vallon as he tries to establish himself in the Five Points while plotting his revenge against his father’s killer, Bill “The Butcher” Cutting. Even before Amsterdam was born, his father, Priest Vallon, and Bill were fighting over territorial control of the Five Points. At their final battle in 1846, it is clear to the viewers that the two are not so different despite how much they fight each other. Amsterdam slowly realizes this himself throughout the movie and becomes conflicted about his feelings towards Bill and who he really is as a person. Back in the Five Points, Amsterdam’s developing relationship to Bill complicates his loyalties to Priest Vallon, but by the end of the Draft Riots, the young man emerges as a bridge between the Irish and nativists and the symbol of a better future.
Before Amsterdam’s time, the racial tensions between the Irish immigrants and the nativists caused multiple clashes between the different gangs. Priest Vallon’s group, the Dead Rabbits, and the nativists were the two main gangs at the time and it is eluded to in the movie that they had multiple fights. The leaders of the gangs, Vallon and Bill, are actually very similar despite their differences. In addition to both of them being the heads of their respective parties, they both believed in the ‘old way’ of fighting. This way included organizing a battle and setting the terms of the fight beforehand. If they weren’t different religions, they would have probably worked together in controlling the Five Points. In reminiscing about Priest Vallon, Bill even says that they, “lived by the same principles [but only] faith divided us.” Going on, they both recognized Amsterdam as a son to them. Even though Amsterdam is the actual son of Priest Vallon, the viewers get the sense that Bill sees Amsterdam as a son he never had. Bill starts to think twice about the Irish as Amsterdam becomes closer to him. Due to Bill’s paternal treatment towards him, Amsterdam starts to see Bill as a respected, almost fatherly figure that complicates his duty to his late father.
Although they fought a lot, Priest Vallon and Bill respected each other. Bill actually recognizes Priest Vallon as the, “best beating he’s ever received.” Bill’s respect for Vallon is demonstrated further in the first battle scene of the movie after he kills Vallon where he commands no one to touch the dead body. Every year, Bill commemorates the death of Priest Vallon by holding a celebration. In Bill’s own way, this is the highest respect he can give to a man other than himself. In fact, he doesn’t recognize someone that much until Amsterdam comes into his life.
When Amsterdam first meets Bill, he is immediately regarded for his bravery in saving his friend. The connection that they build is already established from the first encounter. Momentarily forgetting the hatred that he had towards Bill for killing his father, Amsterdam starts to see Bill as a second fatherly figure when he takes him as an apprentice. Bill trains the young boy in skinning and killing while looking after him in social settings. Amsterdam knows that what he is doing is wrong and is conflicted throughout the movie about betraying his father’s will to “never look away.” To express his confliction, he tries to justify how living, “under the wing of a dragon [is] warmer than you think.” It doesn’t help Amsterdam’s conflicted feelings when Bill treats him with such warmth like he would to a son. This relationship proves that the Irish versus nativist tensions were somewhat dying and paving a way for a better future.
Due to his confusing path of loyalty to either Priest Vallon or Bill, Amsterdam doesn’t take revenge on Bill at first. After getting to know him a bit, the young boy starts to see that Bill does really run the Five Points and even the Irish are either working for him or having somewhat civil relations with him. If Amsterdam were to kill him right away without establishing himself back into the community first, he would be disrupting a system that’s been in place for many years. After becoming Bill’s apprentice, Amsterdam sees the glamorous life that a man in power lives and gets pulled into the ring of the nativists. After living the lives of both an Irish immigrant and of a nativist, he breaks down in confusion and frustration of why there should be such sectional differences between the two divisions.
Due to Amsterdam being shown and invited into the world of the nativists, he starts to sympathize with Bill and even tries to save him from a bullet in one instance. Amsterdam starts to see Bill as a fatherly figure and asks for advice and even permission at times. His feelings about killing Bill gradually change from a genuine want to kill him to more of a necessity to kill him to get revenge for his father. According to the laws of the gang, it was only right and fair that Amsterdam kill Bill to set things straight.
After the Draft Riots ended and Bill was killed by Amsterdam, the Five Points became an area where everyone had more of an equal opportunity for power and money. There was no longer a ruler of a gang to lead the area and the future was near. Amsterdam made the future of Irish and nativist equality a reality by destroying the main person in power with the old ideas of inequality. Even though he may have lost a second fatherly figure in his life, he did what he had to do for the entire Irish race.
The ending of the movie Gangs of New York creates a montage of the growing New York City where everyone of any race or religion has an equal shot at happiness. The parallels between Priest Vallon and Bill demonstrate early on in the film that Irish and nativist respect can be achieved if one looks past one’s religion or differences. The similarities between the two confuse Amsterdam on whether to continue his revenge for his father or continue to build a relationship with Bill. Although many Irish shamed Amsterdam for going around with Bill, he couldn’t help but feel a deep respect for him. Throughout the whole movie Scorsese put hints of a changing society in it but it wasn’t until the end that the viewers truly see the change that has occurred.
