What
I know going in
I have seen the film once before.
However, it was about 8 years ago, so I know the overall plot beats, but I am a
bit fuzzy on all of the details.
Immediate
reaction
In The
Story of Film Mark Cousins introduces three new styles of filmmaking that
came about in the 70’s as part of the New Hollywood movement. These categories
were satirical, dissident, and assimilationist. The first two, are
self-explanatory. The last may need to be elucidated further. According to
Cousins, assimilationist films reworked old studio genres (gangster, western,
noir, melodrama) with new techniques. These films such as The Last Picture Show, Badlands, and The Wild Bunch would apply the style of Old Hollywood to New
Hollywood subject matter.
Of course, The Godfather is an assimilationist film. In the past, the gangster
picture had stayed primarily in the realm of quick, suspenseful films with
clear, black and white morals. The
Godfather takes the subject of an old crime picture, the progress of a
group of people in the criminal underworld, and expands it into a near three
hour epic about the importance of family, the immigrant experience, and the
American dream. The various characters that weave in and out of the film cannot
be defined as only criminals. They all have complex motivations and histories
that inform their decisions and lead to their eventual fates. Vito rationalizes
his hard criminal past as a means to support his children, but has become soft
in his later years. Sonny has a hot temper and seems reckless, but moves to
protect his sister when she is abused. However, this decision only expedites
his ultimate demise. Finally, Michael feels alternatively pushed and pulled to
and from the orbit of his family. He starts the film wanting to keep his
distance from them, but when his father’s life is threatened, he starts heading
down the path that will leave him shut off from his wife and children.
The sequence where Michael is
consecrated as godfather to his nephew while simultaneously orchestrating
several hits is justly praised for interweaving scenes of religious ceremony
and intense violence. However, it is simply the film in microcosm. The Godfather has been working on a
similar level during its entire runtime. All aspects of these characters exist
close to each other. While Vito is handling business, children play around in
his yard. When Pauli fails to protect Vito, his hit is carried out while the
Stature of Liberty stands in the background and amber waves of grain waft in
the wind. During Michael’s preparation to assassinate two rivals, a picture of
a saint stares solemnly while Michael gets used to his new pistol. This
heterogeneous mix of religion, family, violence, and business is the genius of The Godfather.
Further
Thoughts
I’m not one to pay too much attention
to acting, but nearly all of the performance in The Godfather deserved to be discussed. This, and Apocalypse Now, are the only films I
have seen Marlon Brando in, so it has for me to judge the full impact of his
portrayal of Vito Corleone. I imagine for audience members who new Brando from
such films as A Streetcar Named Desire
and On the Waterfront, seeing him as
the old, decaying head of the Corleone family must have been a revelation.
Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker in The
Dark Knight or Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Freddie Quell in The Master could be seen as similar
transformations.
Furthermore, Al Pacino is almost
unrecognizable as Vito’s brooding young son, Michael. Pacino’s portrayal of
Michael is free of all the tics that would come to define in his later years.
There are no big scenes of yelling or mega-acting. Pacino is capable of
displaying a wide range of emotions through eye movement or small facial
gestures. The best example is the scene where Michael goes to assassinate a
rival gang member and a corrupt cop in a rustic Italian restaurant. Pacino
displays Michael’s ambivalence about the situation and his rage about the hit
on his father without even speaking.
Why is
the film on the list?
I
feel like anything I say here is just going to be a cliché at this point, so
I’ll keep it short and just say to watch the film and let it speak
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