The much-awaited Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints Of Newark came out recently, and sadly it didn’t match the standards of the spectacular show. In fact, it was pretty banal and bland compared to the gritty mafia drama series that made a mark in the pop culture world.
The story surrounded Tony Soprano’s Uncle Dickie and some of the significant moments in life. I know that sounds vague, but that’s all there is to the plot, and I so wished it was more, much more.
Dickie was a character mentioned in The Sopranos show by Tony Soprano himself. He once talked about how his Uncle Dickie in the 1970s was murdered in cold blood on a Christmas night, and nobody really knew who it was.
While the film tries to uncover this mystery, we get a major story arc – The rivalry between Harold and Dickie has gained all the spotlight and our attention. A man who used to be Dickie’s employee but now has a crime ring of his own and is trying to take down Dickie.
Of course, in the end, when Dickie gets killed, we think it must be Harold, but in reality, it is Uncle Jun who ordered a hit on Dickie. But the reason behind it might be unclear to some. So why did Uncle Jun get Uncle Dickie killed?
Uncle Jun got Uncle Dickie killed because he was jealous of him and envied him. Uncle Dickie got all the love and respect from Johnny Soprano and Tony Soprano, but he never got any of that to the same extent. This made Uncle Jun angry, and so he got Uncle Dickie shot by a hitman.
Uncle Jun had appeared only for a few scenes throughout the film. However, every time he was in a scene, he only faced disappointment, and somehow Dickie was always involved.
Here are a few instances that made Uncle Jun jealous of Uncle Dickie:
- In one scene, a teen Tony Soprano is suspended from the school for forming a gambling ring in the school. While both Uncle Jun and Uncle Dickie are in the house talking to his mother, she only turns to Dickie, saying, Tony listens to only him.
- When Johnny Soprano comes back from jail after several years, he complains to Jun how he didn’t manage anything properly and how because of him doing nothing, the African Amercians had started living as equals in their neighborhood. When Jun tries to explain how he had the burden of so many things on his shoulder, Johnny disregards everything and uses Dickie as an example. He says how Dickie has managed everything after his father and has not given a single excuse.
- Uncle Jun falls down the steps at a funeral while getting out of the service and gets his back severely hurt. Uncle Dickie immediately starts laughing at this hysterical sight, and this just ticks Uncle Jun.
As we know, these incidents took place over the years, and it is safe to assume that over a period, the hatred, jealousy, and envy just became bigger and bigger while Jun tried to repress it.
Dickie laughing at him was just the last straw that made him put an end to his misery, although the misery was merely in his head. So he ordered a hit on Dickie, and on Christmas night, the hitman shoots Dickie twice on the back right outside his house.
Later, he calls the hitman from the phone booth or the person behind the hitman to confirm if the job had been done, referring to Dickie getting killed. He then receives a confirmation from the person on the other side of the phone.
So now we know the answer to who killed Uncle Dickie. Although the narrative made it look like it could’ve been Harold, it was Uncle Jun in the end.
If you’ve merely watched this prequel and not the show, don’t worry, the show won’t disappoint. In fact, it’s many times better than this film, and hopefully, if there’s another prequel to the show, it better be as classy, dramatic, and gritty as the show.
About The Many Saints of Newark
The Many Saints of Newark is an upcoming prequel movie based on the groundbreaking HBO MAX series, The Sopranos. It is written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner, and is directed by Alan Taylor. The trio are also the producers of the movie.
The cast includes Michael Gandolfini playing the young Soprano, Alessandro Nivola playing Dickie Moltisanti, Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Ray Liotta, Vera Farmigo and more. In addition to them, the original Tony Soprano, played by James Gandolfini also appears in the movie, though via an archive audio.
The movie is set in the 1960s and 70s, focusing on the young Tony Soprano. He’s growing in one of the most struggling racial unrest times in Newark, with rival gangsters rising against the DiMeo crime family. During all this time, his uncle Dickie Moltisanti, whom the young Tony idolizes, leads him to the world of crime, leading him to become the infamous and all-famous mob boss, Tony Soprano of The Sopranos.
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