"Ragtime" may have some flaws, but overall it's an impressive recreation of NYC of the earliest years of the 20th century, and tells a VERY compelling series of stories. Scripted by Michael Weller, based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, it has an eclectic cast, just FULL of familiar faces, that bring life to a colourful array of characters. Among the story threads: a piano player named Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (Howard E. Rollins, Jr.) comes into the life of a upper crust white family (James Olson, Mary Steenburgen, Brad Dourif), a pampered young wife (Elizabeth McGovern) makes the acquaintance of a talented street vendor (Mandy Patinkin), her husband (Robert Joy) is incensed over a nude statue for which she supposedly modelled, and Coalhouse is motivated to righteous fury when racist whites foul up his prized car, and he isn't able to obtain justice through the normal channels.
Ultimately, the film does lose a little something once it drops other story threads to focus on the Coalhouse Walker saga, but it's beautifully done in so many ways: period recreation, music (by Randy Newman), atmosphere, etc. It's appropriately uncomfortable in detailing the incredible racism displayed by some of the white characters, but that is contrasted with much more open-minded and compassionate individuals. The cast couldn't be more engaging; chief among them is top-billed legend James Cagney, in his first feature after a 20 year hiatus, and which would turn out to be his final feature film appearance. This viewer will refrain from wasting paragraph space in listing all of the talent that director Milos Forman parades before us, but it's worth noting that Jeff Daniels and Samuel L. Jackson both made their feature debuts here.
Real-life characters such as Stanford White, Harry Houdini, Booker T. Washington, and Police Commissioner Waldo (Cagney's role) mix with fictional ones in material that would have seemed a natural for Robert Altman (who was, in fact, the original director). It's rich in emotion, and has some humour to it, as well. It may not be completely effective all the way to the end, but it's quite the experience anyway.
Eight out of 10.
