The Godfather: Part III

To call Francis Ford Coppola’s final installment of The Godfather trilogy a disappointment is a bit harsh, but it does not live up to the great expectations the previous two had exceeded.  It is still done better than most films of its time and deserves the numerous Oscar nominations.

In Part III, it is 1979 and the aging Don Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is feeling the pressures of his past wrong doings.  He has been attempting to legitimize his business, embracing corporate America, but has still become very wealthy through blood money.  To help his image, he is appointed Commander of the Order of St. Sebastian, a very high honor in the Catholic Church and in return makes a large donation in the name of his new foundation in his father’s name.  This is the classic Corleone equation we have seen in the previous films: church function + generous donation = image boost.

There seems to be a large focus on Mary (Sofia Coppola) and Tony (Franc D’Ambrosio) as children, even though they are now grown.  Throughout the film, there are references to their childhood traumas and memories of the business.  They always have this need for their father’s approval, even with their mother, Kay (Diane Keaton) on their side.  When Tony tells Michael that he wants nothing to do with his business, it does not feel like a conversation between two grown men who happen to be father and son, but more like a little boy trying to get out of something his father had planned for him, like it’s not bigger than a baseball game.  This new generation doesn’t feel the need to grow up like the previous ones, and I cant tell who’s to blame for this.

While we see Michael having a change of heart, thinking more of his children and their future outside the business, it seems he does not know how to break away from it completely.  His financial dealings with the Vatican feel very fishy and seem bigger than he could have planned.  His nephew, Vincent (Andy Garcia) is more ruthless and ambitious than Michael ever was, and as he becomes closer to Mary, puts her in danger.

The acting is not as great.  Andy Garcia earned the film’s only acting nomination for his fierce and passionate portrayal of Vincent.  Sadly, Sofia Coppola’s Mary was one of my least favorite characters of the entire series.  All her father/daughter scenes felt far too wooden and fake.  Her only real characterisation turned out kinda slutty, which became pretty creepy when we realize she’s hitting on her first cousin.

There’s something about this Part III that is just not as good.  It just is not as compelling as the other two.  It feels like something is missing, some driving force that made the other two films to mesmerizing, it’s just not there.  And that is a bit disappointing.  That being said, it’s still a better film than most made, earning nominations in most of the major categories.  It just falls short in comparison to the extremely high expectations its predecessors proudly set.  It’s worth seeing just to wrap up the story of the trilogy, but we’ll cherish moments from the first two far more.

“I swear on the lives of my children, give me one last chance to redeem myself and I will sin no more.”

The Godfather

It is nearly impossible today to have no knowledge of The Godfather.  Even if you haven’t seen the film, you have probably seen some parody or heard a line taken from the film.  Surely you’ve heard of an offer you can’t refuse?  My earliest memory of this film would have to be around age seven, with my dad channel surfing one night.  It was an early moment in the film, my dad knew what was about to happen and built it up for me.  There was a man waking up in his bed, then blood, then he discovered the severed head of a horse between the sheets at his feet.  I think my dad explained it in a simple way, “That’s what happens when you don’t listen to The Godfather.”  Something along those lines.  Of course I had nightmares, but those quick scenes my dad would show me of different movies (when my mom wasn’t in the room to discourage it) always peaked my interest and made me come back to see the rest of the movie later.  It was the kind of childhood trauma that has lead me into this intense love of film.

Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) is the aging head of the New York mafia family.  On the day of his daughter’s wedding, he is busy listening and granting any reasonable request guests bring to him.  An old Sicilian tradition, and with his long mafia reach he is getting some tough, but still reasonable requests.  Youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) has just returned from WWII and is dating Kay (Diane Keaton), who seems to be the only blond at the wedding.  He tells Kay that he doesn’t want to be part of his family’s business.  After an assassination attempt on Vito, Michael steps up, saves his father’s life from attackers coming to the hospital to finish the job.  Now Michael is in and wants revenge on his father’s attackers.  He does the family proud and goes into hiding in Italy for a while.  When he returns, Vito prepares to hand the family business over to Michael.

All this big talk of mafia hits and offers you can’t refuse may initially turn people away from the film, thinking they couldn’t possibly identify with such immoral characters.  The thing is, the whole story is told from inside the mafia, the family.  When someone hurts one of your own, revenge just becomes justice.  We are not shown any civilian victims at the hands of the family, just equally corrupt people who got what was coming to them.  All the violence we are shown can be justified by mob rules.  Even when the police are involved, they are the crooked cops and we are fine with their demise.  To think of this as the family business and the sons simply helping and protecting their father, brings more sympathy to the characters.  Clever.

In this harsh mafia world, there is little use for women.  They are the domestic creatures expected to prepare food and create sons to one day continue the business.  When Michael takes a wife in Italy, they don’t even speak the same language.  No big deal, right?  My biggest gripe is wondering why Kay married Michael after not hearing from him for over a year.  Perhaps it was just the desperation of being an old maid in the forties.  Fact is, the deeper Michael gets in the business, the further he has to be from Kay.  I’m afraid she’s just going to become that trouble making woman who doesn’t know her place in this mafia family.

Marlon Brando’s Oscar winning performance is unforgettable, and so was his refusal of the award.  To make Vito look more like a bulldog, Brando wore a mouthpiece during filming.  He based the husky-whispering voice off real life mobster Frank Costello.  At the Academy Awards ceremony, he sent Sacheen Littlefeather (birth name Maria Cruz) to refuse the award for him, protesting against Hollywood’s misrepresentation of Native Americans.

Brando’s protest couldn’t change the fact that The Godfather and his role in it are some of the most iconic pieces of American cinema.  Francis Ford Coppola’s direction was masterful and instrumental to winning Best Picture.  The Godfather is one of those movies that everyone should see at some point.  It’s smart, beautiful in it’s subtlety and one of the most well written pieces of American cinema.

“Only don’t tell me you’re innocent. Because it insults my intelligence and makes me very angry.”