The Godfather- 5 Stars

Theatrical Release Poster

Though the Godfather is often cited as one of, if not the, greatest films of all time, I wasn't blown away by it like I was when I saw Apocalypse Now or 2001: A Space Odyssey but nevertheless, the Godfather is a great film.

The Godfather follows Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) as he goes from family outsider to a ruthless mafia leader known as the Godfather. His father, Vito (Marlon Brando), is the Don at the beginning of the film but when he barely survives an assassination attempt his eldest son Sonny (James Caan) takes charged advised by Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), the family consigliere (counselor).

My only criticism of the film is that it isn't really saying anything. The only themes in it seem to be that just because you're a violent mafia boss doesn't mean you can't be a nice family man...okay so I'm being overly dismissive- it is concerned with moral judgement (if all the main characters are essentially murderers and criminals then why do we root for them?), it does have ideas about duty and honour, but these ideas are not really expanded upon. The only reason we sympathise with the mafia is because of the closed world that the film is set in. What do I mean by that? I mean that the only people we really know are in the mafia and all outsiders are shown to be bad (an example would be the corrupt police chief). I suppose when the film was first released it was really cutting edge in the fact that it showed the mafia sympathetically as no other film had really done before. But now the idea of honour and a sympathetic portrayal of the crime bosses is no longer original and instead seems a little cliched. In this way I would claim that The Godfather has aged slightly.

 Now is it really necessary for a film to have themes to be great? I would say the answer is no, but to really reach the heights of excellent film making then I would say that yes, your film has to be saying something. That is when your film becomes art. In the same way that a novel without some kind of message can be good but is not art on the level of Tolstoy or Goethe, a film without themes can be good, great even, but is not art on the level of the best films. Now the Godfather does have themes but a film for intellectuals it is not.

(Pretty much) The Full Cast of The Godfather

So having got my small complaints out of the way lets move on to just praising this film to heaven and back. Stanley Kubrick said of the cast- 'This could be the best cast in a film ever'. I am inclined to agree. The four main actors (Brando, Pacino, Caan and Duvall) are simply superb. When thinking about an actor and how good their performance is I always try and think of someone who could play the role better than them. No-one could play these roles better than the actors in this film. Although Pacino and Brando are the acting greats among this cast, Duvall and Caan form a brilliant masterclass in contrast when playing their characters. Caan plays the rash eldest son Sonny whilst Duvall plays the cautious and methodical Tom Hagen. These two actors have a lot of screen time together and we constantly feel the difference between them whilst also believing in the characters. The brilliant acting is, of course, only made possible by the screenplay which makes each of these characters completely real and believable- there are no cardboard cut outs in this film. Pacino is also on top form as Michael Corleone brilliantly showing his character arc of nice guy to the ruthless Godfather.

I am going to devote an entire paragraph to Brando's performance because, quite frankly, it deserves it. I have already mentioned the importance of the screenplay in creating real characters which then allow the actors to give such brilliant performances. Now, out of all the characters mentioned, Brando has, in my opinion, the most difficult job yet, indisputably, gives the best performance. Vito Corleone would be, in the hands of a lesser actor, the most one dimensional of the major characters. He's all powerful, he has almost no weaknesses- he's almost like a sort of mafia God. He's moral, respectable, powerful, balances his family and criminal life expertly- in short he's simply just good at everything. Now of course this is a crime boss- a man whose living is made by killing people so that already does make the character slightly more complex. But still I maintain that it is Brando who gives Vito depth and makes him real. Marlon Brando is brilliant at playing strong, powerful men who also have humanity. In On the Waterfront, he plays physically strong boxer Terry Malloy yet for all Terry's hard-man attitude we see his sadness and deeply connect with him because Brando is so good at portraying emotion just through one facial expression or word or something. In The Godfather he does the same. Vito is an all powerful man but Brando gives him an emotional depth whilst staying true to the character.

'I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse'
Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone

There are three scenes which I would like to specifically mention. Firstly, the scene where Vito is advising Michael of how to find a traitor in the family. He tells him a method, they then pause and discuss something else and then Vito relays the method again. It is clear Vito is losing his memory but Brando doesn't make a big deal out of it. He speaks softly and with authority but there is a kind of physical weakness about him showing that he is beginning to get old. In this way Brando stays true to the strong nature of the character whilst also letting the audience identify with his weakness. Now the other two points I wish to discuss contain spoilers so skip to the next paragraph if you haven't seen the film. SPOILER ALERT. The next scene I would like to draw your attention to is just after Sonny dies and Vito is comforting Tom. We see the sadness in Brando's face and the tears fall freely. But this is Don Vito Corleone. He still maintains his dignity, his honour. Brando stands upright and strong and comforts the sobbing Tom. Brando just exudes great strength by his mere presence. Again this is about the contrast of weakness and strength. Lastly, I want to discuss Vito's death. Vito is playing in the garden with his grandchild but pushes himself too far and falls dead. Brando plays with his grandchild so touchingly that we feel Vito's great love for his family. Yet, he also is slow and deliberate in his movements- he is still powerful we feel. Then, when he falls down dead, we have a sense of loss- that someone great has just passed on. I can only attribute this to Brando's amazing screen presence. You know when Brando is on screen and as he leaves it for the last time in this death, we feel the loss of that magnetic presence which is reflected in the film. My overall point is that anyone can play the all powerful strong Godfather, perhaps not quite as well as Brando did but good enough. But no-one could play the omnipotent but human Godfather other than Brando.

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone

Another scene I would like to focus on in more detail is the famous baptism scene. In this scene, Michael Corleone becomes Godfather to his sister's child whilst mafia members kill the rest of the crime bosses in the city on Michael's orders. So the obvious comparison here is that whilst Michael is becoming Godfather to this child, he is also becoming Godfather to all his loyal fighters. This begs the contrast of Michael belonging to a religion in which one of the most important commandments is 'Thou shalt not kill' yet he himself is a mafia leader. This scene sums up the whole thematic point of the film really- can a criminal overlord be a good, honourable person? On the basis of this film, the answer is probably yes...probably.

So in conclusion, this is a brilliant film full of superb performances, good direction and a intriguing plot. Despite it being almost three hours long you will be so gripped the time will just fly by. I've gone into a fair amount of detail and I haven't even mentioned my favourite scene in the film so you can tell how good it is just from that.

Ratings: Entertainment: 10 Technical: 5 Intelligence: 4= 19/20 *****














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