The Godfather, Part III is part of a classic trilogy involving the crime family, the Corleones, in case you hadn’t heard. The first two movies won Oscars for Best Picture, becoming the first film along with its sequel to do so. Part III was nominated for an Academy Award as well, however did not win. So, will part 3 live up to its expectations? Let’s see…

If you haven’t seen the first two Godfathers, I highly suggest that you at least see the first one to get an idea of what is happening in this third film. Now don’t get me wrong, I actually think the 2nd might be the best of the three, but I’m getting away from the review at hand, and my point. The point is, there are many parallels between the first Godfather and the third. I’ll explain further.

At the beginning of Godfather, part III, we are introduced to our main character, Don (Michael) Corleone, played wonderfully by (my favorite) Al Pacino. He is the head of a certain crime family and throughout the trilogy has lead his family to great wealth and power. He is now trying to become “legitimate” and leave his “mafia” reputation behind him. All that he has done in the past was for his family and now all that he is trying to do for the future is for his family, including his two (grown) children, Anthony and Mary. His ex-wife, Kay (Diane Keaton), has raised their children, not without resentment towards Michael and his wayward ways.

We are also introduced to a new character, Michael’s older brother Sonny’s illegitimate son, Vincent, played by Andy Garcia. Sonny was killed in the first Godfather, in part due to the fact that he was rash and did not think things through. This was a key difference between Michael and Sonny, a reason that Michael was able to continue to make the Corleones such a strong family, as his father had done before him. Vincent has the personality of Sonny and the heart of Michael- meaning well, but being too much of a “hot-head”, if I may use the expression, like Sonny. Michael decides to take Vincent under his wing, and in a sense, teach him what he could not have taught Sonny.

Suddenly Michael finds himself caught in the same situation that his father was in- wanting only the better the lives of his children, living off of their love. As Sonny and Michael did for their father in part one, Vincent and Mary become the protectors of Michael. In the process of wanting to do what is right for Michael, Vincent and Mary find themselves attracted to each other, which as cousins, and given the fact that Mary is played by Sofia Coppola, makes for a not so romantic couple, in my opinion.

In the commentary, Francis Ford Coppola refers to a statement made by Michael Corleone, “When they come, they come at what you love”. This was advice that Michael gave to Vincent- trying to get him to stay away from Mary. Coppola refers to this because he had intended for Sofia to take the role of Mary, and when the critics did not take to her performance, he felt that it was their way of getting to him. Unfortunately, I think the bad press had less to do with Francis Ford, and much more to do with the hideous acting done by Sofia. While I will give her credit for her film directing, she is better off behind the screen than in front of it. I have often tried to picture Winona Ryder (who originally was cast as Mary, but bowed out due to an injury) in the role. And while I’m not a big Ryder fan, I can’t tell you how much she could have helped out this film. Not only is Sofia somewhat odd to look at, her voice, her expressionless face, and overall inability to capture her audience only take away from what could have been a five star movie.

I found the lighting particularly interesting in Godfather, Part III. Half of the settings and characters were very dark, dimly lit. The other half, was warm, neutral colors. It reminded me of the struggle of Michael Corleone- the struggle between having a legitimate life and the life of a gangster, the struggle between his family, the light of his life, and the “work” he does, which, throughout the trilogy, has done nothing but tear him apart from the ones that he loves. In fact, the first time we see Mary, she is wearing a dress that is black on top, with a warm, gold colored skirt bottom. Kay, Michael’s ex-wife is wearing an all gold colored dress, while Connie, Michael’s sister, is wearing all black. I think this coloring is great foreshadowing of the plot to come- Kay wants nothing to do with the Corleones, as a crime family. Connie, as the younger sister, takes care of Michael and is involved in the “business’, wanting what is best for the “family”. Mary finds herself caught in between and we watch her struggle between innocence and a knowledge that haunts her.

Al Pacino, resuming his character of Michael is wonderful. He is charismatic and his strength of character is brought to life through Michael. His performance is flawless, and he even makes us believe that he truly loves his family, including his daughter Mary who seems so fake, you’d think that would be impossible.

Andy Garcia must have watched The Godfather over and over in order to so closely resemble the character traits of James Caan’s role of Sonny. He is completely believable, while at the same time, exuding sexiness and passion- again, making us believe, as Pacino did, that he could actually have feelings for an empty character, Mary. He was even nominated for an Academy Award.

Other key roles were played by Joe Mantegna (Joey Zasa), Diane Keaton (Kay), Talia Shire (Connie). Bridget Fonda and the ever tan George Hamilton also have bit parts.

The Godfather, Part III is a great film, with a great story- the love of your family can never be measured by wealth or power. There is some violence and overall mature themes and I would not recommend this film for children. As an ending to a saga, Part III does the trilogy justice. As a film with its own beginning and end, it does itself justice.


This review is a (belated) entry to lemon-lime’s Third Time’s A Charm write-off. The challenge was to write about anything with 3- part 3, the theme of "3", etc. This was in honor of lemon-lime’s 3rd anniversary here at Epinions, Jan. 10, 2000. I am proud to say that I beat him to it by 10 days (my 3rd year here was on Dec. 31, 1999- don’t ask what I was doing here at Epinions on New Year’s Eve, I don’t remember).




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older