Movie review
September 22, 2021 · 120 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Many Saints of Newark.
Woke representation / casting
Prominent role for Black actor Leslie Odom Jr. as gangster Harold McBrayer in a story of racial community conflict; the casting fits the 1967 Newark historical setting and gang-war plot rather than appearing as quota signaling or story mismatch.
Woke political dialogue
No activist speeches, systemic racism lectures, or modern identity messaging; dialogue remains authentic to 1960s mob characters with typical era attitudes.
Identity-driven story themes
Racial tensions and a Black criminal figure building power during the riots form a noticeable subplot and thematic layer, presented as period history in classic Sopranos style without reframing into current identity politics.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Brief depiction of a police incident sparking riots alongside mob and street violence, but no sustained modern activist critique of institutions, patriarchy, or Western norms; focus stays on individual mob choices.
Review
The Many Saints of Newark is a 2021 crime drama prequel to The Sopranos. It follows teenage Tony Soprano and his uncle Dickie Moltisanti as they navigate family ties, mob power struggles, and gang wars in late-1960s Newark. Racial tensions and the 1967 Newark riots serve as a visible historical backdrop, with one prominent Black gangster character rising in parallel to the Italian mob, though the story stays focused on personal ambition and violence without modern lectures or activist framing.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Original prequel story with no ideological alterations to established Sopranos characters or source material.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Limited online fan complaints treat the riots subplot and Harold arc as forced racial commentary or BLM-timed insertion into the Sopranos brand; backlash stays niche and secondary to broader quality complaints.
Creator track record context
Lead creator David Chase emphasizes complex realism and has publicly resisted woke reinterpretations of The Sopranos; co-writer and producer show no activist or identity-politics pattern.
Production
