Grade: A+ (99/100)
Year Released: 1972
I don't say this lightly, but The Godfather is probably as damn close to a perfect film as I will ever see. In many of the movies I've watched for the purpose of having seen them I've wondered to myself, why is this movie recognized as one of the greatest of all time? Not so with The Godfather. I didn't have to wonder. It was just magnificent, from the superb cast to the beautiful direction, from the elegant screenplay to the eery score. There were times in this film wherein I had to choose between crying and laughing, between disgust and delight, but through most of it I allowed myself to feel both. After all, the theatrical methods in which Italian crime families such as the Corleones work is both horrifyingly and darkly entertaining. There is real cinematic magic in this film, the kind that makes you want to quit your job and just watch movies all day. It demands to be thought about and considered even days after your first viewing.
The Godfather is a very tricky concept, one that includes the broad themes of loyalty, revenge, anger, family, ethics, human personality, and a patriarchal hierarchy. It's my understanding that Coppola's transformation of the script, from the novel by Mario Puzo to the film, is greatly tilted so that the main focus is on the transformation of Michael Corleone, the youngest of the family who is thoughtfully played by a young, excellent Al Pacino, from a distant and disillusioned son to the ruthless mob boss he never wanted to become. Marlon Brando's work as Michael's father, the Godfather Don Vito Corleone, is cleverly lazy, drawn out and slowed down to evoke the feeling of a once-powerful man whose influence is immense but whose life is ultimately waning. He understands that his powerful grip on political and economic affairs within his family, community, and city must be passed down to the worthy son; it's through a process of elimination that plays off of children's storybooks that leads Michael, the black sheep, to become the heir of his father's throne. Although I understand where critics are coming from when they call Brando's performance overdone, I would disagree. The family dynamics of the Corleone dynasty are flamboyant- the downright theatrics of their crimes, such as the infamous horse head scene, demand an actor who is both melodramatic and quietly powerful. Brando's turn as the tired, all-knowing Vito Corleone, to me, worked in the way that he played up a character whose antics demand a dramatic flair.
I can't stress enough how impressed I was by the work of the collective cast. There are movies, I've noticed, that are easily carried by two or three (or one) really important, talented characters. The background characters work but might not be talented whatsoever, and the absorption into the film's reality breaks with these characters. You are reminded, simply, that what you're watching is a movie. The ensemble of The Godfather is excellent to the point in which every character fits into place like pieces in a giant puzzle. Even if not every character is developed, it doesn't matter. We can never know the intricacy of all of the people we know, but we can recognize that everyone is there for a reason, and speculate about the possibilities of their existences, which is a treat. The characters we do meet are so layered, so perfectly set, that the impeccably natural acting only adds to the effect of reality.
 |
| Brando, about to make an offer one "can't refuse" |
Only one character really changes, and that's Michael. It's obviously an intentional move dependent on the fact that Michael is the only character, at least the only brother, who does not have a fatal flaw preventing him from surviving and taking the throne. Sonny, played by James Caan, an actor I grew up knowing as Walter Hobbes from Elf, falls victim to his own hotheaded rage. Fredo's nervousness and inability to see reason quickly eliminate him as an option to replace Vito Corleone. It's through the ultimate goal of avenging his father's attack and preserving the pride and honor of his family that Michael undergoes his transformation. Revenge is able to ground him to his true purpose: as the heir he never wanted to be.
Anyway, I'm sure everything I've mentioned has been said before, and so I'd like to just mention a few things about The Godfather that really impressed, delighted, surprised, and moved me as a young budding cinephile. Firstly, I loved the subtle humanity that the actors brought out in their characters. The Corleone family does some pretty sketchy stuff- although its refusal to buy into the narcotics business supported its deeper, more noble values- but never do you feel like you're watching a group of monsters. The gentleness of Vito Corleone in the garden with his grandson picking tomatoes; the sweetness of his refusal to take a family picture without his youngest son; the towering Tessio dancing with a little girl whose shoes are on his feet at the wedding; Sonny yelling at Michael before taking his face tenderly in his hands and kissing his cheeks; there is real humanity in these scenes, and juxtaposed with the horrors of the mafia business itself, the viewer is left with real questions about ethics and human nature.
Aside from that, I just want to make a shoutout to the horse head scene, in which I laughed in horror for probably five solid minutes. "Why are you laughing?" One of my parents asked, worried. I don't know. Just see it for yourself and think about it.
Though the film is three hours long, it never lags, and even during Michael's foray into Sicily there is not a boring moment. Everything Coppola does in The Godfather works- it's a timeless, beautiful film that will surely endure as a great classic for years to come.
I rented The Godfather on Apple TV for $3.99 before purchasing the 3-disc Godfather collection on Amazon for an outrageously inexpensive price of only $12. Seriously! You can also purchase The Godfather on Amazon and, I'm sure, at your local video store.
No comments:
Post a Comment