reviewed by Charity Bishop
     

It has become a staple of our society. It is quoted in everything from casual conversation to serious essays. "I made him an offer he can't refuse." "He's sleeping with the fishes!" It won numerous awards and is considered by many "the greatest movie ever made." It is The Godfather, a fascinating look into a crime family that generated controversy when it was produced (the mafia did not appreciate it, and threats were made against producers; but various actors also used their "crime connections" to obtain roles!) and remains to this day the most celebrated film of all time.

Requests are something Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) is very familiar with. They come from everyone, accompanied with an appeal for his assistance and the assurance that if he should ever need them to return the favor, these families will be more than happy to oblige. That is, quite simply, how it is done among the Five Families -- an Italian powerhouse that maintains control of New York during the 1940's. Judges, policemen, attorneys, senators -- all in the pocket of the organized crime families. It is the day of his daughter's wedding and everyone is there. While dancing and singing transpire in the backyard, the FBI lurks in the parking lot, and "business" is conducted in the upper office. Some of his visitors are nervous, stammering and wiping their brows. Others are cold-hearted in their determination to have "justice" against those who have wronged them. Most of the family is accustomed to this lifestyle, but there is one member who has chosen to live apart from it.

Michael (Al Pachino) wants nothing to do with the bloodshed and violence associated with the Corleones. He has retreated from the life of a mobster and found honest employment in the armed forces. He is currently dating a beautiful young woman (Diane Keaton) who knows nothing about his father's infamous reputation and has high aspirations for the future. His elder brother Sonny (James Caan) is fine with taking the lead but lacks the calm and resolved nature required to make intelligent decisions. Tempers have been rising among the Five Families and when an assassination attempt is made against Don Corleone, it becomes apparent that their former "peace" is not long to last. The legal-minded and passionate family attorney (and adopted son) Tom Hagan (Robert Duvall) tries to keep Sonny from immediate retaliation but the consequences of the shooting carry immense repercussions. Realizing that he may be the only one capable of launching retaliation in a more systematic manner, Michael abandons his former pursuit of justice and joins his father and brother in retaliation, leading to a bloodbath that spans several generations.

Fascinating. That is the one word that best describes The Godfather. The book was expected to be such a tremendous success that filmmakers optioned it before it ever reached the publisher. Everyone who watches it finds it interesting -- even if they don't "like" it! The immense contrast between cold and calculating premeditated murder and a family devoted toward traditional morality is astonishing -- and a wonderful contradiction showcased time and again. Michael is all about courtship and marriage before becoming intimate but also has no qualms about gunning people down in the street. One scene late in the film has him attending a christening and standing as "Godfather," affirming his belief in God and Jesus Christ, interspersed with the slaughtering spree he has sent his associates on. He quite calmly has a member of his extended family strangled. It is all about family and betrayal -- if you don't betray the family, you will be safe. That is, if someone from the other side doesn't hit you -- and that all too frequently happens. It's a concept that is haunting and almost unfathomable, since it shows a deliberate distancing of emotion between "personal" and "business." In that regard, I almost suspect that it is not the movie which is so compelling and worthy of such tremendous success so much as the premise and characters behind it -- our culture's fascination with good and evil, and how the two can coexist in the same human being.

The approach taken to the material is an unusual one; the film is very dark -- not only metaphorically but visually as well. It's grainy and muted in its colors and so the symbolic oranges that indicate approaching death stand out all the more. It is a movie about violence and violent people, but it is also about relationships and contains simple moments that seem meaningless but go toward character development. There is an overall plot but many "vignettes" also take place to show us how the crime family works and why Don Corleone is so respected and feared. One early story involves a film producer refusing to cooperate with the Family's demands. The retaliation is gruesome. Eventually, we run into some of those involved again but the segment lasts a few minutes and passes. If you can live with that style in terms of storytelling, you will find it entertaining. I had never seen this film in its entirety prior to recently, just an "edited" version of it a number of years ago, and I went in expecting much more profane content then there actually is. The R-rating is earned but not overly abused. Two offenders stand out more than others -- obviously the first is going to be violence, and the second is going to be profane language. There were no f-words (there is an Italian derivative which means the same thing, but is not apparent unless you know Italian!) and much mild profanity, but the script also includes nine abuses of God's name coupled with d***n and one use of "Jesus Christ!" There is some sexual content and brief nudity -- Sonny is an unapologetic womanizer and we see him in an intimate situation with a bridesmaid at the wedding. (Both are fully clothed but there is movement and a great deal of moaning, which another man overhears and smirks at.) Michael is very conservative in his approach toward women and gets married before before bedding the woman he loves but the camera does peer in on them during their wedding night and shows us several rapid glimpses of her bare breasts as the two kiss tenderly. The restraint in that regard was nice but I could have done without the peep show! There is a delicate reference to rape in the first several minutes.

While there is a certain amount of violence it is not nearly as gruesome as one might expect: twelve people are killed in the course of the film, most of them gunned down and a few shot in the head at close range. Blood sometimes spurts (more so in the mass "executions" in which people are machine gunned). Some of the deaths are grittier than others; some are close-up, others further away. The scenes are usually long in a successful attempt to impose upon the audience how horrible it is. (I cringed a great deal watching a main character meet his unfortunate end; he's hit by hundreds of bullets and then a few more are shot into him for good measure.) There are also two prolonged scenes in which someone is strangled -- the first is the most difficult to sit through as a man's hand is impaled with a knife so he cannot fight back, and then we watch him gasping and panting as he is taken down. The second is witnessed through a broken car window. Scenes of domestic violence are just as hard to watch -- Michael's sister has an abusive relationship with her husband, and it's excruciating to watch him chase her around the apartment and repeatedly strike her (and her pregnant stomach) with his belt. He follows her into a secondary room and we hear screaming and hitting sounds. On another occasion she turns up with a badly bruised face. Sonny retaliates by chasing her husband down and beating him to within an inch of his life. There is quite a bit of drinking. We overhear a man urinating on the side of the road. Animal lovers should be forewarned that in a very grotesque, very bloody scene, a man wakes up to find his beloved racehorse's severed head in bed with him.

My initial viewing of this film was experienced with my parents, ironically near the Christmas holidays. I would not use the term "like" lightly with regards to such a movie because it implies acceptance but the honest truth is -- all of us liked it for the same reason: it is an exploration of good and evil, and an intense psychological study. It is a film following the descent of a good man into darkness. Michael starts out as good and by the conclusion is so jaded and so evil that murder and deceit comes as second nature to him. Is it a good movie in terms of filmmaking? Yes. It has an exceptional cast and a magnificent script. Can I recommend it to a Christian audience? I don't know.