If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone
Better than the first one in every single way. Every. Single. Way. The first is a great film, it’s a technical marvel to behold but emotionally it does absolutely nothing for me, it’s an enjoyable watch but it’s not one I feel connected to or am particularly engaged with. Part II, on the other hand, is one of the most engaging films I’ve ever seen. A three and a half hour movie feels like thirty minutes, not a single second is wasted, everything intricately falls into place to create a grandiose work of art. One of the most brutal films ever made, just because of the way its characters develop.
On my first watch I guess I felt some sympathy for Michael, after all he was kind of forced into this life right? Well not anymore. I hate him, he’s a cold, unrelenting and truly evil human being. He’s so caught up in himself that he completely ignores the world around him, he may look like he has control of his family, his business I mean, but when you look at Pacinos face, when you look into his eyes in that final shot what you see is someone just as weak and just as clueless as all the people he’s murdered. You see someone with no direction. No matter what, it’s all Michaels own fault, he purposefully isolates himself because that’s all he cares about… himself.
Thank god for Kay. What he does to her in their final scene together is one of the most shocking things ever put to screen and all he actually does is just close a door. I’ve seen this film before and I still expected him to be somewhat nice- I don’t know why. I guess I wanted to be happy for a minute before everything properly hit the fan. He controlled her, even after she gained her freedom. That’s what Michael does to everyone, he controls them, even if they don’t know it, I think this can be linked to the Cuban revolution parts of the film. The revolution rages, somebody thinks they’ve won, but there’s still somebody else in control. Michael doesn’t want respect, he doesn’t want money, he doesn’t want love or this or that… he just wants control.
There’s no descent into evil, he doesn’t slowly become like his father, he just is. Always has been and always will be. Change change change. There’s always somebody promising change but it never comes, maybe it’s to different extremes but in the end everything stays the same because change would mean he has to give something away, admit he was wrong, change means a loss of control (no matter how minor). Change is a dream to some and a nightmare to others.
The parallels of Vito and Michael are so insanely well crafted, it’s genuinely intimidating as someone who wants to be a filmmaker. The way everything flows and mixes together is so… hypnotic. Everything about this film is hypnotic. It is a true great work of art. Nobody wins in the end.
The dark cinematography isn’t really brooding, but it’s warmth isn’t to mistaken for kindness either. There’s just this ambiguity, you can never really tell what someone’s thinking, in that way this film expects something of its audience. To be able to understand people, not to sympathise but to understand. Shadows overtake the screen, silhouettes, they look like people, they even sound like people- but they’re heartless. The way the camera moves is amplified by its often static nature, there’s not many noticeable zooms, which makes scenes like Fredos assassination just that much more brutal. I like how clean the camera is, I like how clean all of it looks, because it juxtaposes the rough and brutish characters plus story. It gives you this glorious image of money and power, then it shows you how it’s made. There’s a quote from the start of the film that in context is pretty harsh, extremely hypocritical without a doubt, but it also sums up what I’m trying to say:
I despise your masquerade, the dishonest way you pose yourself. You and your whole fucking family.
Nino Rotas score is just boiling over with emotion, it works almost too well. There’s this moment when Michael returns to the US, he walks into his house and the score is playing, then he looks into a room where Kay is- suddenly the music stops. An unbearable silence, paired with the clicking of a sewing machine, overtake the screen. It’s at this point when it’s clear, it’s more than obvious, where their relationship is heading.
Every performance is just…I mean a cast like this will never be replicated ever again. Everybody is mind numbingly good, a cast like this- now that’s a dream right there. Pure unadulterated emotion, everyone embodies their respective roles, everyone is perfect. Pacino is horrifying, his eyes tell their own story. Cazale makes me sad, he makes me so so sad. Duvall is just so… his restraint speaks more volumes than any exaggerated performance can. Keaton is brilliant, hearing her talk about the abortion is just so- it’s hard to hear and it makes me want to look away because there’s so much hurt packed into one scene but it’s also in a way so empowering to see someone actually stand up to Michael and go through with it. DeNiro, do I even have to say anything? He made me feel sympathy for Vito, something Brando couldn’t do. I’m forgetting so many others names and I don’t want to stop writing so I’m just gonna stop here and say that every actor in this film is, gonna have to get repetitive, perfect.
The Godfather Part II just works. Everything about it works, saying it is a perfect film isn’t saying enough. It’s one of those films I could just go on and on about it’s one of those films that I feel define me and define my filmic journey. It’s so impactful to me, and maybe it’s impact is doubled by the fact that the first one makes me feel almost nothing but I gotta tell you I’m not lying when I say that it brings me close to tears. Not tears of sadness or of joy, I don’t know why it does this but they’re tears either way. Tears of what? I have no clue. Less a crime film and more of a tragedy. Truly one of the greatest ever made.
I saw a strange thing today. Some rebels were being arrested. One of them pulled the pin on a grenade. He took himself and the captain of the command with him. Now, soldiers are paid to fight; the rebels aren't.
What does that tell you?
They could win.
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