A hard-boiled detective novel set in the gritty world of the Jersey City projects, the film tells the story of a modern-day “Saint” named Newark. In this compelling crime drama, Danny is an undercover cop who wants to get out from under the thumb of his mob boss and retire with his girlfriend. But when he uncovers a terrible secret about the man she loves (and her past), it becomes clear that getting out will be difficult, if not impossible.
Release date:
September 2021
Cast and characters:
– Danny (lead)
– Newark the Saint: the protagonist and the film’s namesake.
– Naomi the Saint: a woman in the projects who runs her own business but is looking for more out of life.
– Antonio the Saint: Danny’s boss and mentor. He looks out for Danny to ensure his safety.
– The Boss: Newark’s nemesis throughout the movie; he tries to take the Saint’s family business.
– The Sniper: the Boss’s right-hand man, he enjoys inflicting pain and death to his enemies through long-range shooting.
– Alicia, the girlfriend, is an interior designer who was once a gang member’s girl.
– Alyssa Diaz: the film’s director. The independence movement had no voice. So the first question we had to ask was how the film would come out.
– Aja Naomi King: the film’s star, the Christian faith is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It made me want to be better.
– Jason Mitchell: the actor who plays Bumpy Johnson. When they shot on location in Newark, the people would come out and have their picture taken with the actors as if the actors were the real Bumpy Johnson.
Plot details:
The many saints of Newark are the story of the intertwined lives and souls in an iconic American city. The film takes place between 1966 to 1977, telling the migration story from Italy, Germany, and Ireland to America as told through the eyes of a dozen unforgettable characters: mother superior Alfonsa; Felicitas (Felice), who runs the neighbourhood “social club”; the exiled bookie Vito Spatafore (Vic).
The “original wise guy,” Tony Soprano’s uncle, the physician, and abortionist Dr. Anthony Soprano; the young Latino Arturo who becomes a star athlete at Seton Hall University in the 1970s when the Newark Bears were the talk of college basketball; Rikki Lombardi.
The Sopranos blew up our idea of what TV could be. This fall, The Many Saints of Newark returns to the scene of the crime. https://t.co/Dy1KFDDu1A
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) August 2, 2021
The film is set in the early 1900s, when the city was controlled by white industrialists, and the black population lived in poverty, without access to education or even a chance at voting. This had been going on for over 100 years before Booker T. Washington stepped forward with his plan for the National Negro Business League.
Synopsis:
The Many Saints of Newark is the story of a Cuban and Nigerian family living in the city’s North Ward. When the oldest daughter, Vera (played by Shakira Barrera), learns her father has secretly become an ordained priest to earn more money for the struggling household, she sets the course for the rest of her family, irrevocably changing the trajectory they had been on and leading them to the promised land.
