Post by klep on Oct 21, 2019 7:06:19 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/21: The Godfather: Part II
ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID WEEK!
At the end of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has fully embraced the role he was forced into - of leading the Corleone mafia family as its Don. But we know it's not the life that he wanted, and in that last scene he's framed by the door just before it's shut, closing him off from his wife Kay (Diane Keaton).
The Godfather: Part II examines the cost being Don extols on Michael. Early in the film he and Kay narrowly survive an assassination attempt, and the investigation reveals betrayal after betrayal until a final, crushing revelation from Kay leaves Michael broken. By film's end he is a shell; paranoid, ruthless, and despairingly alone. As with The Godfather, Part II ends with a synchronized set of Corleone-ordered deaths, but where the first film's murders were a declaration and securing of power, in this film they are a statement of profound insecurity.
Coppola contrasts Michael's story with that of his father Vito, in this film played as a young man by Robert DeNiro. Young Vito was orphaned by mafia violence, and narrowly escaped it himself to arrive on New York's shores as an orphan. Vito starts out living an honest life, but the mafia is omnipresent in Little Italy, and he falls into its orbit. But where Michael embraced crime reluctantly, Vito dives in. He starts as a thief, but it's not long before he's assassinated the local crime boss and become the true power in his neighborhood himself.
Where Michael withers, Vito thrives. Despite all the intimidation and ugliness of running a crime family, Vito's relationships with his children and his wife never faltered. Unfortunately whatever Vito had in his character that let him keep his personal and business relationships - even when they were with the same people - separate, Michael doesn't. Each betrayal takes a devastating toll on Michael, and feeds his ever-increasing paranoia. He becomes an evil, possessive man focused entirely on who has wronged him and who could wrong him. "I don't feel I have to wipe everybody out," he tells his lawyer and brother-in-law Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), "Just my enemies. That's all."
But Michael could have been different - was supposed to be different. The Michael Corleone we meet in The Godfather was a decorated war hero. An educated man, on his way to political success and perhaps even the Senate. By the time Michael was grown and the war was over, attitudes on Italian-Americans were improving and societal avenues were open to them that Vito couldn't have even dreamed of. Michael is a second-generation immigrant, and wants to live like the American he feels he is.
At the film's end Michael remembers a happier moment - the family still alive and together. He remembers asserting his independence, and taking the path he wanted over the path his father imagined. He was on the path to live the better life all parents want for their children. The successful career, the wife, the family, the whole bit. In the present Michael's dreams are ash. He has nothing and no one. He got everything he never wanted, and all it cost him was his soul.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for10/28: Volver
GUEST ESSAY WEEK!
For our latest Guest Essay Week we'll be looking at Pedro Almodovar's Volver, starring Penelope Cruz in one of her finest roles. Join us next week for our discussion, accompanied by an essay from a guest contributor!
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 10/22: Joker
The podcast crew concludes their study of the Clown Prince of Crime with Todd Phillips' Joker. Come join us next Wednesday for our discussion! Joker is still in theaters.
ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID WEEK!
At the end of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has fully embraced the role he was forced into - of leading the Corleone mafia family as its Don. But we know it's not the life that he wanted, and in that last scene he's framed by the door just before it's shut, closing him off from his wife Kay (Diane Keaton).
The Godfather: Part II examines the cost being Don extols on Michael. Early in the film he and Kay narrowly survive an assassination attempt, and the investigation reveals betrayal after betrayal until a final, crushing revelation from Kay leaves Michael broken. By film's end he is a shell; paranoid, ruthless, and despairingly alone. As with The Godfather, Part II ends with a synchronized set of Corleone-ordered deaths, but where the first film's murders were a declaration and securing of power, in this film they are a statement of profound insecurity.
Coppola contrasts Michael's story with that of his father Vito, in this film played as a young man by Robert DeNiro. Young Vito was orphaned by mafia violence, and narrowly escaped it himself to arrive on New York's shores as an orphan. Vito starts out living an honest life, but the mafia is omnipresent in Little Italy, and he falls into its orbit. But where Michael embraced crime reluctantly, Vito dives in. He starts as a thief, but it's not long before he's assassinated the local crime boss and become the true power in his neighborhood himself.
Where Michael withers, Vito thrives. Despite all the intimidation and ugliness of running a crime family, Vito's relationships with his children and his wife never faltered. Unfortunately whatever Vito had in his character that let him keep his personal and business relationships - even when they were with the same people - separate, Michael doesn't. Each betrayal takes a devastating toll on Michael, and feeds his ever-increasing paranoia. He becomes an evil, possessive man focused entirely on who has wronged him and who could wrong him. "I don't feel I have to wipe everybody out," he tells his lawyer and brother-in-law Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), "Just my enemies. That's all."
But Michael could have been different - was supposed to be different. The Michael Corleone we meet in The Godfather was a decorated war hero. An educated man, on his way to political success and perhaps even the Senate. By the time Michael was grown and the war was over, attitudes on Italian-Americans were improving and societal avenues were open to them that Vito couldn't have even dreamed of. Michael is a second-generation immigrant, and wants to live like the American he feels he is.
At the film's end Michael remembers a happier moment - the family still alive and together. He remembers asserting his independence, and taking the path he wanted over the path his father imagined. He was on the path to live the better life all parents want for their children. The successful career, the wife, the family, the whole bit. In the present Michael's dreams are ash. He has nothing and no one. He got everything he never wanted, and all it cost him was his soul.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for10/28: Volver
GUEST ESSAY WEEK!
For our latest Guest Essay Week we'll be looking at Pedro Almodovar's Volver, starring Penelope Cruz in one of her finest roles. Join us next week for our discussion, accompanied by an essay from a guest contributor!
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 10/22: Joker
The podcast crew concludes their study of the Clown Prince of Crime with Todd Phillips' Joker. Come join us next Wednesday for our discussion! Joker is still in theaters.