Wow. Way to kill the thread Mickey.
Anyway, i know i meant to say "from Bonasera's meeting to closed doors" & most of you are probably disgusted, but the fact is it had been about 10 or 11 hours earlier & things slip your mind when you go without sleep. Shut up.
Still... i am embarrassed.
True, but listening to hours of her incessant whining in that nasally voice was still grating. And I didn't even mention her dull expression.
True, true, Sophia Coppola was a poor choice & a weak point amongst an otherwise strong cast, BUT... let go of that & dont see her as a bad actor, but rather as a badly naive & awkward teen. Thats why she's so earnest, so wide eyed & stitled, she's learning how "big" the world is, she's in love with her cousin & finding out about her father & his world, and it all scare's & arrouses her a little, leaves her a little awed & lost for words, a little stiff & stilted around her family.
Alright, i know that's ridiculous. Sorry. Luckily Pacino is good enough for the both of them.
There's no single character we really care about.
Who cares about the Immobiliare deals or whether or not he can fix his broken relationship to his kids and exwife?
Vincent is too simple minded to be a protagonist. He's a supporting character, but even Sonny's shoes are too big for him.
Sophia - even more naive than Fredo or young Kay.
Anthony - good singer, so what!
My friend, I must disagree. I care about the characters. Im happy to see what's happened to Michael, nearly 30 years later. It his "almost" redemption. I like Vincent. Sure, he's got much to learn, but you could imagine him growing in to a more serious role. Sophia is definitely ridiculously naive, which does a little for my pardoning some bad acting (read above) And as for Anthony, well singing is pretty far removed from his father's business yeah? Which is what Anthony wants at his father's chagrin, innit? And of course, it sets up the crescendo at the end, with Anthony onstage singin Opera while all these murderous plots unfold.
The real difference between III and the first two is
that all the characters in III are two dimensional.
In III everyone is either a parody of himself or herself, or two dimensional. A has been Fontaine brings nothing. Hagen's priest son?? Why is he even in it? Terrible reprise for Enzo the baker....Altobello's performance will forever be a stain on Wallach's career. I could go on but what for?
Aha. Good points. While i agree that many characters are more like carictures, i can see that as an extension of what Michaels world has become. Fontaine is a has-been, but after all these years, he's still showing his support for the family. As far as Hagen's son, it shows us that even though Tom is long dead, Michael & the Corleone's are still a very big part in the lives of hid children.
In defense of the actors: The script was lousy, I think they just didn't know what to do about it.
I agree & i dont agree. I shall expound below.
FFC overreached in extending the Corleone Family scope & influence. From NYC to Nevada is one thing but Italy & the Vatican? I suppose it was part of the 'full cycle' aspect, his father having been born there...but maybe a bit much with all the 'personal' family stuff going on. And not enough time to really develop the story.
They did fall a little short of what he seems to be aiming for, but not by all that much. Of course its pretentious, Michael & his cronies standing in the shadows..."this Pope has powerful friends. We may not be able to save him..." Of course its ridiculous. Now the first bunch of times i watched that, i would roll my eyes (like i would at other parts of the script) & wish they'd either left it out or worded it better. Over time though, the overly-serious-bordering-on-cheesy script came to seem fitting to the circumstances. Michael definitly falls short of the quiet eloquence & wisdom his father's speech but he definitly tries.
I thought nearly 3 hours was ample time; and in a way it left plenty to be resolved & explored in a GFIV. (yeah, i said it)
I do love this movie. I have to admit it has many faults, but it outshines many others in most regards.
Anyway,
Wooo. That Mezcal some nasty stuff. I cant even smell it now without dry-retching. Scorpion.
(shudder)
