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I’ve heard Ridley Scott’s new gangster tale described as SERPICO meets SUPERFLY. The former applies more than the later though. This is because Denzel Washington’s Frank Lucas hates flashy pimp-dressing hustlers, but, like SUPERFLY’s Youngblood Priest, Lucas is making his way selling drugs for it’s a very tempting opportunity for a poor black man in the 1970s. AMERICAN GANGSTER actually reminded me most of Michel Mann’s HEAT, which also told the parallel stories of criminal and cop.

After his mentor dies, Lucas fights for control of the Harlem drug trade. To take an upper hand, he travels to Asia to buy his product directly from the supplier and uses the war in Vietnam to help smuggle heroin into the States. Dressed in nice, but not flashy, suits, Lucas runs his illegal business like a legitimate business. With his connections in Asia, he is able to sell a more pure product for half the price, putting his competition out of business or coming to him as a wholesaler. He even guards the image of his Blue Magic brand from two-bit hustlers like Nicky Barnes (Cuba Gooding Jr., JERRY MAGUIRE). He takes pointers from the Italian mafia by enlisting his family, because they are the only ones he can truly trust. But he isn’t afraid to threaten to kill his brother Huey (Chwetel Ejiofor, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS) when his younger sibling starts to bring too much attention to himself. Even though he is involved in a violent business, his family life is sound, buying a huge house for his mother (Ruby Dee, THE STAND) and developing a tender relationship with his beauty queen wife, Eva (Lymari Nadal, TV’s BATTLESTAR GALACTICA).

On the flipside, Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe, GLADIATOR) is as honest as can be. He becomes a pariah in police department when he turns in a million dollars worth of unmarked bills — an action that draws attention to all the cops who don’t do the same. However, his honesty pays off when he is tasked to form his own unit to help the feds crack down on the drug trade in New Jersey. Along the way, his efforts run into corrupt NYC cops led by Det. Trupo (Josh Brolin, GRINDHOUSE), who gets a piece of all the drug business he knows about, which makes finding out the supplier of Blue Magic one of his top priorities. But unlike Lucas, Roberts’ personal life is in shambles. He struggles to get his law degree and overcome his fear of public speaking. His womanizing has driven his wife Laurie (Carla Gugino, SPY KIDS) to file for divorce and petition to take custody of their young son.

Scott, basing his film on an article by Mark Jacobson adapted into a screenplay by Steven Zaillian (GANGS OF NEW YORK), keeps a keen pace between the stories of Lucas and Roberts. Though we spend more screen time with Lucas, the film feels very balanced between the two stories. We learn the same amount about both character’s personal and professional lives. Despite their any differences, they do have certain things in common. Their families are their weak spots, the place they are the most vulnerable. They both have equal disdain for corrupt cops; which, for those who do not know the story, provides a surprising coda to the closing of the film.

This solid crime drama isn’t saying anything new, but its story is told engagingly. We’re fascinated by Lucas and feel for Roberts. Though Washington and Crowe do not interact until the end, the star pairing isn’t missed. They bring subtly to their characters. In contrast to his real life tough guy image, I’m always surprised at how Crowe finds ways to work vulnerability into his characters. I loved his body language during his first interaction with Brolin. The two stars bring depth to characters that are just trying to do their job and try to support their families. Both fail and succeed in different ways, and one will be surprised with how much they do have in common.