The Many Saints of Newark (marketed with the subtitle A Sopranos Story) is a 2021 American crime drama film directed by Alan Taylor and written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner. A prequel to Chase's HBO crime drama series The Sopranos, it takes place during the 1960s and 1970s in Newark, New Jersey. The film follows a violent gang war from the perspectives of mobster Dickie Moltisanti and his teenage nephew, Tony Soprano, in the midst of the city's 1967 riots. It stars Alessandro Nivola as Dickie and Michael Gandolfini as Tony, the character originated by his father in the series, with Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, Michela De Rossi, John Magaro, Ray Liotta, and Vera Farmiga in supporting roles.
Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema obtained the rights to produce The Many Saints of Newark alongside HBO Films. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Fall Preview on September 22, 2021, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 1, along with a month-long simultaneous release on the HBO Max streaming service. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising the performances of Gandolfini and Nivola, though some criticized the script. During its theatrical release, the film grossed $13 million against a budget of $50 million, but it was a streaming success on HBO Max and contributed to a spike in viewership for The Sopranos.
Plot
In 1967, a young Tony Soprano travels with his mentor, Dickie Moltisanti, to welcome home Dickie's father, "Hollywood Dick" Moltisanti, and his new Italian bride, Giuseppina. Moltisanti is a soldier in the DiMeo crime family, which also consists of Johnny Soprano and his brother Junior, Silvio Dante, Paulie Walnuts, Pussy Bonpensiero, and "Buddha", Pussy Bonpensiero's father. After a black taxi driver is assaulted and robbed by white police officers, riots break out in Newark. One of Dickie's black associates, Harold McBrayer, begins to take part in the riots. Harold kills a man stealing from their business, forcing him to flee to North Carolina. Before leaving, he gets $500 (equivalent to $4,063 in 2021) from Dickie as a gift.
At a carnival, Tony sees Johnny and Junior arrested and Johnny is sentenced to four years in prison for assault with a deadly weapon. During an argument, Hollywood Dick kicks Giuseppina down a flight of stairs. When Dickie finds out, he confronts him. An argument leads to a physical altercation where Dickie kills his father in a fit of rage. He takes the body to one of Hollywood Dick's businesses and burns it down to make it look like it was destroyed in the riots.
Guilt-ridden, Dickie visits his father's twin brother, Sally, who is serving a life sentence in prison for killing another made man in his own family. He also begins seeing Giuseppina as his comare. In elementary school, Tony is suspended from school for starting a gambling operation, and Dickie makes Tony pinkie promise him that he will follow the rules.
In early 1972, Johnny is released from prison and Harold returns to Newark determined to start his own black-led criminal operation. Giuseppina also has an affair with Harold after a fight with Dickie. Harold kills one of Dickie's men and steals their extortion money. Dickie and his crew torture and question one of Harold's gang members with an impact wrench and then kill him. In retaliation for Cyril's death, Harold and his gang engage in a drive-by shootout with Johnny Boy's crew, during which Buddha is killed. Harold and Dickie engage in a standoff, but both leave when they hear police sirens.
After Tony steals the answers for his geometry exam, the school guidance counselor tells Tony's mother, Livia, that he has a high Stanford–Binet IQ and the Myers–Briggs personality traits of a leader. The counselor also relates how Tony told her about a time in which his mother hugged him and read him a book about Sutter's Mill and how it was one of his best memories. Livia tries to show her affection for Tony, but she mentions how her doctor wanted to prescribe her antidepressants. When Tony suggests taking it, she antagonizes him. At Buddha's wake, Tony asks Dickie if he could get Elavil for his mother, but Dickie is hesitant.
After the wake, Junior slips and falls on the church steps, causing Dickie to laugh uproariously in his face, infuriating Junior. Dickie reconnects with Giuseppina and promises her a beauty parlor for her to run. During a walk on the beach, she confesses to her affair with Harold. An enraged Dickie drowns her in the ocean. Dickie again visits Sally, who suspects Dickie of murdering both his brother and Giuseppina. Sally says that everyone close to Dickie ends up dead sooner or later, and that he should stay out of Tony's life.
Dickie listens to Sally's advice and begins to avoid Tony, refusing to see him or answer his calls. An upset Tony throws the speakers Dickie gave him out his window. Later that night, Silvio encourages Dickie to reconcile with Tony, and Dickie relents. Before he can arrive home, Dickie is shot in the back of the head by an unknown assailant on Junior's orders.
At Dickie's wake, it is revealed that Dickie did acquire the Elavil for Tony, and had it in his pocket when he was killed. Tony looks sadly at Dickie's corpse and imagines doing another pinkie promise with him, like the two had done years before. Some time later, Harold moves into a white neighborhood, his organized crime operation having apparently become a success.
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