Godfather Part 2
Many people debate as to what is truly the greatest sequel ever made, and the answer can often be found by breaking down the dynamics of what makes any such sequel “great”. They can be things such as smoothly continuing the story of the first film without repeating itself, avoiding the pitfalls of any sort of recasting of major roles resulting in an awkward breakup in actor chemistry, and of course just damn good writing which oftentimes can continue to flesh out major characters and actually make them even more interesting. Of course, a Best Picture Oscar win can also validate a sequel’s worth, as is what happened here in 1974 when Francis Ford Coppola returned to direct and write (with Mario Puzo) this epic sequel to The Godfather, itself long an easy candidate for most respectable Top Ten lists if not usually at number one (or two behind Citizen Kane). It retains all the little things that are used to give sequels merit, showing us more of this Mafia family known as The Corleones and even going so far as to expand upon the family’s backstory. With Al Pacino now firmly in the lead role as Michael and not being overwhelmed by the towering presence of Marlon Brando as the old Don Vito Corleone, Coppola took an interesting yet bold move in intercutting the “modern” scenes (actually late 1950s) with the backstory of Vito himself (starting as a boy in 1901 Sicily) as we witness the murder of his entire family at the hands of a fat, arrogant Don in their local village before the boy escapes on a ship to America and winds up in Ellis Island and finally New York City, being played here by a VERY young Robert DeNiro in a performance that’s a thing of beauty in itself, delivering nearly ALL of his dialogue in Italian but yet still connecting with the audience through sheer will of charisma even as we always read subtitles whenever he is onscreen. We see DeNiro’s Vito rise through the ranks starting as an assistant in a bakery before running afoul of the fat neighborhood Don (no doubt triggering bad memories of his childhood) before eventually killing the man and then employing a more kinder, gentler style of mafia chieftain, choosing instead to get to know people and become their friends as a way of doing business instead of using muscle and bullying tactics to ruthlessly get what he wants, thus becoming The Godfather (and evolving into a reasonable facsimile of the young Brando), much loved by his fellow Italian people for protecting and watching over them and doing what is necessary to keep the peace first and foremost (as compared to his bloodthirsty son) and DeNiro encompasses the part so successfully (all while in the shadow of Brando), that like his predecessor, he also took home an Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actor for the role of Vito Corleone. But despite DeNiro’s powerhouse acting and the beautifully authentic set and production design, these sequences (about 25% of the film) produce a bit of a jarring effect, and when paired with the later material starring Pacino, betray the fact that Coppola was making an all too obvious point including it in the film (why couldn’t Michael be more like his dad?) although the “Novel For Television” version (which restores several deleted scenes) actually has the two films play in proper consecutive order (with the DeNiro scenes before the Brando scenes) in order to create a more timely effect. That brings us to Pacino himself, fully establishing himself as a Hollywood heavyweight at the time with his Best Actor nominated performance here. Michael is a cold, calculating Don who wants it made clear that he is NOT to be fucked with, having pissed off so many respected mob figures since the end of Part 1 that they have engineered a major assassination attempt at his own house which nearly takes out his wife Kay (Diane Keaton) as well. Leaving the local Nevada businesses in the capable hands of adopted brother and lawyer Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall, of whom few other actors ever did such a good job with a fairly forgettable character) and heading off to Miami to talk business with Jewish crime boss Hyman Roth played by Lee Strasberg, an interesting choice because even though the man was considered to be an uber legendary acting teacher, he still possessed a very limited resume as an actual actor himself, stepping up here to play a major role in a major film to show everyone exactly what he himself was capable of, and not only managed to slyly underplay the de facto villain of the film, but also scored a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nom for it. Michael also heads to New York to talk to current local boss Frankie Pantangeli (Michael Gazzo), an interesting story in itself since this role was originally meant to be Richard Castellano reprising his role as Clemenza, but since the actor demanded too much money and wanted to write his own dialogue, the script was rewritten to explain that Clemenza had died from a “heart attack” (though we do get Bruno Kirby as the young Clemenza in the DeNiro portions) and Pantangeli (never seen nor even referenced in the first film) was created instead to fill the void, and Gazzo (who would play mob types for the rest of his career) also scored a Supporting Actor Oscar nom for essaying a colorful, loudly talking, and at times even self indulgent performance as a Mob figure faced with a terrible choice when it comes to issues of loyalty and respect. All the while, Michael quietly keeps his own counsel, never telling everyone absolutely everything that he’s knowing and thinking all that so he can flush out what he’s certain to be the traitor in his own midst, and much to his chagrin, that traitor turns out to be his feebleminded brother Fredo (John Cazale, who along with Talia Shire’s Connie and others get their roles greatly beefed up here). And here comes the horrible ethical question: If you learned for absolute certain that your own flesh and blood had conspired with your sworn enemies to have you killed and / or removed from power all because he was manipulated to think that he would then be placed in charge as a sort of puppet Don that they could easily control, how would you deal with him?? Would it be forgiveness, banishment, or death? What would the old man say?? That turns out to be the central dramatic gist of this 3 and a half hour film, and the way that Michael DOES handle it (especially by the way that he plays with the emotions of Fredo and others over it) is probably as cruel as could ever be imagined, and makes one wonder, could YOU do it? Even if someone like Fredo was living a dream existence with plenty of money, lots of beautiful women, and everything he could ever want except the actual power itself (really an awful burden to have to carry) and really didn’t deserve much in the way of sympathy? And how Cazale didn’t get to partake in the slew of acting nominations that the film got is a mystery in and of itself. It’s certainly clear that Michael’s failings as a husband and father have cost him dearly on the home front, as Keaton’s Kay also gets her big scene where she formally tells Michael that her recently miscarried baby was actually in fact an abortion (and also that it was a son), knowing that Michael will NEVER forgive her for such an insulting slight. It really comes to the point where Michael ultimately becomes a tragic figure, becoming surrounded by those who fear him and collect a payday from him rather than actually love and care about him, lacking the familial love that his father brought from everyone including their closest friends, all because he wanted nothing more than to be known as a guy not to be trifled with at the cost of having everyone’s respect. A sad fate to be sure, but also one that Michael has obviously brought upon himself with his own actions. And the final scene, a flashback reunion of characters from the original, chillingly illustrates the standoffish attitude of Michael even back then with those whom he loved while still recalling the bond of brotherly love that he shared with Sonny, Fredo, and Tom. A human tragedy to be sure of someone undone by his own human frailties, not so much a sequel but a continuation of the greatest saga in American cinematic history…
9/10