Sofia Coppola’s performance is often cited as ruinous to the film. It’s just that the execution absolutely never rivals those first two films. And if that was all that mattered, The Godfather Part III might well be considered an uncontested triumph. Gone is the narrow path he pursued to save his soul. Any hope he had of redeeming his relationships with his ex-wife and children is shattered. Michael’s quest for absolution is forever ended with Mary’s death. In the end, it is Mary, the apple of Michael’s eye, who is caught in the crossfire and killed on the steps of the opera house even as Vincent and Connie successfully execute all the competition. Meanwhile Connie has her own plots against a rival Don, now-Godfather Vincent is orchestrating a multi-pronged hit on their various rivals, and an assassin comes for Michael. Michael has allowed his children to go their own way at the behest of Kay, and he beams with pride as Tony displays his operatic talent. Here the film kicks off with a massive ceremony in which Michael is being honored with an award from the church, and the finale of the entire series takes place against a sprawling backdrop of Tony Corleone’s opera house debut in their native Sicily. And Godfather Part III is as good at crafting these sweeping set pieces of crescendoing violence as any of the previous films. The juxtaposition of gangland violence against the backdrop of these legitimate cultural and religious rites is the stuff of Godfather legend, an intermingling of the legitimate and the monstrous. The Godfather Saga depicts institutions and institutional ceremony repeatedly, and the major movements of the Corleone family all take place around events such as weddings, baptisms, first communions, and opera house debuts. Exploring the Catholic church as an institution which Michael believes has the authority to grant him some kind of absolution for his cursed soul, and which has its own deep corruptions hidden beneath the surface, is the biggest stroke of genius. Many of the narrative choices that frame The Godfather Part III are fantastic ones. And Kay (Diane Keaton) has re-married, distanced herself from Michael’s toxic corruption, and is attempting to protect her adult children from the insidious family business. Connie (Talia Shire) has become somewhat of a headmistress to the family, more or less one of Michael’s generals and enablers, with a wicked streak of her own. Meanwhile, his ambitious nephew Vincent (Andy Garcia playing Sonny Corleone’s extramarital offspring conceived at Connie’s wedding in the opening scene of the first film) strives to become the heir to the Corleone family as Michael’s own children, Anthony (opera singer Franc D’Ambrosio) and Mary (Sofia Coppola) seek out a legitimate life. Michael Corleone, rightfully haunted by his inhuman acts to cement the power of the Corleone family (most notably the order to have his own brother Fredo killed) has set his eyes on going legitimate through a business deal with the Catholic church. I find it to be a successful final chapter to an epic saga when assessing the narrative directions it goes. The theatrical Godfather Part III which we’ve all known and had access to for decades is itself a highly flawed film, though one we’ve had time to process and discuss. And while it’s always a good time to revisit some of the greatest films of all time, a back to back viewing of The Godfather Part III and Coda makes for a head scratching experience. When Francis Ford Coppola announced a reworking of the third chapter, complete with a new remaster, re-edit, and retitling to Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone, I felt the time was perfect for me to revisit the hallowed series and prime myself to soak in a new cut of a fascinating film with the series quite fresh in my mind. A trilogy capper that attempted to follow up a one-two punch of two of the greatest films in American history some 15 years after the second chapter, each viewing simultaneously increases my estimation of the film and cements its inferiority to the first two. The Godfather Part III is, and will forever be, a fascinating film. More than all the money and power on earth. “The only wealth in this world is children.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |