wasn't it awful naïve of Connie to think Fredo drowned? Obviously the body was fished out after his "drowning," wouldn't the big bullet hole in his head have been evident?

I'm sure the body was never found. That was the point of shooting him in the middle of the lake.

In any case, I think Connie knew full well what the deal was. Her reference to Fredo drowning in GFIII was an attempt to assuage Michael's guilt.

but, in III, Connie was utterly devoted to Michael. Why would she play those games? It sounded to me like she really believed Fredo drowned. And how deep could that lake be? Maybe, like Dexter, the currents in the water take corpses awwwwayyyy.

I think for the most she just wanted to believe Fredo only drowned, although she knew better than that.

The whole family was dysfunctional and like a lot of dysfunctional families, or like any family really, they wouldn't need to put everything out in the open. It would be too painful.

I mean can you imagine Connie on the psychiatrist's couch?

Dr. Melfi: So Connie. What's going on.

Connie: Where to start? I was a real spoiled Daddy's girl but my Daddy was a murderer. He also wouldn't protect me from my abusive husband who I loved mind you, and to whom I was introduced by my oldest brother, also a murderer, and who was killed by my husband. But then my next oldest brother murdered my husband. I used to think he only did it because my father had already passed away but the more I think about it I think my Daddy told him to do it. Anyway this brother made me beg him for money and over the years almost became a substitute Daddy for me. And then later on this brother murdered my only remaining brother although we all were told it was a boating accident. My adopted brother , who I'm pretty sure never murdered anyone is dead. And my niece and nephew are having an affair.

So all things considered, I'm doing great!!!

I think Connie was just telling Michael what he needed to hear because of that devotion. She knew full well what happened. She just didn't want Michael to worry himself into another diabetic stroke.

And for the record, Lake Tahoe is one of the deepest lakes in the entire country, and the tenth deepest in the world, measuring over 1600 feet in some spots. It's also said that the pressure in that deep a body of water often prevents corpses from creating the natural gases necessary for a corpse to float.

Michael was so pathetic in III, calling out his murdered brother's name "Fredo! Fredo!!" Doesn't ring true to me. That was Al Pacino acting as "Al Pacino," not Al Pacino acting like "Michael Corleone." Pah!

If you think that, then you are missing one of the major themes of III - his struggle to reconcile the two Michael's one of which had murdered his brother. Calling out his brother's name was also a function of the deleterious effects of a diabetic stroke.

And to add to what PB and others have opined, Connie needed to lie to herself.

oh! so you're the one who likes III.

Well said Olivant





He's not the only one. While I agree that it may have been a bit rushed as far as casting went and overall shooting, and in no way lives up to the reputation of GF and GFII by any means, for the most part I like the movie on it's own.

Like Olivant said if you are able to grasp the theme that Michael is growing older and is seeking redemption for the things that he did in his life, especially dealing with the guilt of ordering the murder of his father's son, his mother's son, then you can enjoy and appreciate the movie.

Although Michael is seeking redemption, looking to wash away the guilt that has begun to consume him, when push comes to shove he is the same Michael. All through the movie he says that he wants out, wants to release himself from his ties to organized crime, the commission, etc. But yet his controlling egotistical nature that dwells deep within himself is still there, it never goes away. He wants to control Immobiliare, and in his Michaelesque way he both uses Vincent for his own benefit and indirectly keeps a certain amount of control over Vincent.

Again, in my opinion GFIII is a good movie on it's own and one that may need to be viewed more than once in order to get and understand the struggles that Michael has within himself throughout the movie.

Michael was particularly cruel to Connie in GF and II. In GF, Michael has her husband whacked on the day he stood godfather to their son. In the novel, Hagen explains to Kay that standing godfather was Connie's idea, not Michael's, as if that justified the awful hurt. In II, it's Connie who begs Michael to forgive Fredo. Fredo's reinstatement at the Tahoe compound, which put him in Michael's trap 24/7, was Connie's doing.
So, Connie might have gone stark raving mad from guilt if she came fully to grips with how Michael used her and her feelings. Rather than deal with that, she convinced herself that Fredo "drowned."

So what? Carlo had to be killed sometime. Michael certainly wasn't as "cruel" to Connie for doing it on that day as Carlo had been to her. After all, Carlo knowingly played a critical role in Sonny's death (that, of course, is why he was killed), in addition to beating Connie repeatedly. And it's not as though Connie would have been dramatically less affected if Michael had chosen a different day to do it.

Vito, of course Carlo had to be whacked . My point was not the timing per se, but the fact that (through Tom) Michael tried to put the timing on Connie. He could have chosen to have Carlo whacked at another time with no problem.

I think Connie was in denial because its a horrible thought to think that your brother did a evil thing by ordering the death of your other brother

If you take her comment in context it is clear she knew Michael killed Fredo.

Michael had just told Connie, much to her surprise that he had made hs confession to a priest. Once she digests this, out of the blue she make a comment about "poor Fredo" drowning. This was her way of telling Michael that even if he confessed to the murder of Fredo, the story Michael had given the family would stand and that she would not break what amounted to Omerta.