Film Review
The Godfather Part II is that
rarest of phenomenon in cinema, a sequel that is better than the
original film.
Not only is its scope considerably wider than that
of the first
Godfather film, it also
explores the psychology of its main protagonists in much greater depth
and is a far more complex and rewarding piece of cinema. The bulk
of the film is preoccupied with Michael Corleone (again superbly played
by Al Pacino), now securely ensconced as the head of his father's
gangster empire. Times are changing and Michael finds himself up
against some formidable challenges which threaten to bring him
down. In his determination to hold his empire together, he slowly
surrenders his last vestiges of humanity and fails to uphold his
father's creed about the importance of the family. Instead, he
puts a little too much credence in that other piece of paternal advice:
keep your friends close, and your
enemies closer. The more ruthless Michael becomes in
dealing with his enemies, the faster he brings about his own downfall,
and so he ends up isolated and dehumanised - a cruel mockery of the man
he once imagined he would become. We are reminded of another old
saying.
Power corrupts;
absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Michael Corleone's tragic decline is effectively contrasted against his
father's rise from humble origins. The two stories are
ingeniously interwoven so that when we cross from one to the other a
striking parallel is immediately drawn. It is as if Michael
and Vito Corelone are being fated by gods of opposing temperaments, the
former compelled to surrender all the chips that his father was able to
win in the casino of life. The contrast in the two men's
parallel destines is emphasised by the starkly differing
cinematographic style which is skilfully employed by Coppola.
Whereas Vito's story is predominately told in sun-drenched settings
that reflect the warmth and vitality of the protagonist, Michael's is
characterised by a dull palate which becomes increasingly darker and
moodier as the character's human qualities ebb away. It is like
watching a seesaw - as Vito rises higher and higher into the sunlight,
his son sinks deeper and deeper into the shadows. As one empire
rises, another must fall.
Director Francis Ford Coppola shows no sign of being daunted by the
enormity of this production and confidently delivers what is probably
his finest film, aided and abetted by co-screenwriter Mario Puzo
(author of
The Godfather
novel).
The Godfather Part II has
the lavish, epic quality of the first film but is much richer, both in
terms of the story it has to tell and also the variety of techniques
that Coppola and his team employ to make the narrative interesting and
convincing. There are of course the dramatic set-pieces of the
kind for which Coppola is renowned (the best being the slightly
tongue-in-cheek assassination of a greedy protection racketeer), but
what makes the film particularly powerful are the more restrained
character-centric sequences, which slice into Michael Corleone's flawed
psychology like an over-zealous pathologist performing an
autopsy.
Al Pacino's portrayal of Michael is both chilling (in its depiction of
a man being overtaken by his ambitions to the exclusion of all else)
and devastatingly poignant, particularly as we are never allowed to
forget where he started out. It is testament to Pacino's acting
skill that the brooding monster he ends up as at the end of
The Godfather Part II is virtually
unrecognisable as the likeable young man we encountered at the start of
The Godfather.
Pacino's is not the only great performance the film has to offer.
As the young Vito Corleone (the character played by Marlon Brando in
the original film), Robert De Niro proves to be every bit as
charismatic and turns in a sympathetic performance that is a perfect
contrast to Pacino's, and just as nuanced and compelling. The
supporting contributions from such talented performers as Robert
Duvall, Diane Keaton and John Cazale should not be overlooked as these
add greatly to the film's authenticity, intensity and charm.
Although initially
The Godfather
Part II was far less well-received by the critics than its
predecessor, it proved to be an international box office hit and
subsequently acquired widespread critical acclaim. The film was
nominated for 11 Oscars and won awards in six categories, including
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (De Niro) and Best
Adapted Screenplay. In 1977, Coppola edited together the two
Godfather films, adding footage
which had been omitted from these films, into a four-part television
series entitled
The Godfather Saga.
Coppola completed the
Godfather
trilogy with
The Godfather: Part III
(1990), a film which continues to divide critical opinion but which
may, in the fullness of time, come to be as well-regarded as the two
epic masterpieces that preceded it. As a study in the
corrupting and dehumanising influence of power,
The Godfather Part II is virtually
unsurpassed and resoundingly deserves its reputation as one of cinema's
landmark achievements.
© James Travers 2011
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Next Francis Ford Coppola film:
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Film Synopsis
Sicily, 1901. When Antonio Andolini is killed by Mafia chief Don
Ciccio, his wife pleads with the latter to spare her only remaining son
Vito. The gangster shows no mercy and has the woman killed when
she attacks him. The boy Vito narrowly escapes death and sets out
to begin a new life in New York, adopting the name Corleone. Two
decades on, Vito is married and has started a family of his own.
In the immigrant ghetto where he lives, Don Fanucci runs a protection
racket and extorts payment from Vito and his friends. Having
taken the initiative to assassinate Don Fanucci, Vito becomes a popular
character and gradually builds up a prosperous import
business. In 1958, Vito's favourite son Michael has a tight
grip on the Corleone empire and has ambitious plans for its
future. But his attempts to acquire a casino in Las Vegas
are threatened by a crooked senator and rival gangster Hyman
Roth. When an attempt is made on his life, Michael is convinced
that someone close to him has betrayed him and resolves to find out
who. To get to the truth, he must play along with Roth, aware
that he is a dangerous and powerful adversary. Sure enough,
Michael learns the identity of the man who betrayed him - his own
brother Fredo. Just as his wife turns against him and old allies
prove to be unreliable, Michael finds himself under investigation by a
Senate committee for alleged complicity in gangland activity.
Threatened on all sides, Michael refuses to buckle under, but goes on
fighting with an iron resolve, not yet realising that everything he
once valued is slowly slipping from his grasp...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.