Here's the problem with THE GODFATHER, PART II: it doesn't add to the story of THE GODFATHER. Michael ends THE GODFATHER well and truly damned. By the end of Part II, all he's done is find out what hell's like. Vito ends THE GODFATHER a man of honor, by his own lights. That's how he ends here. There is nothing that happens in Part II that hasn't already been done, and done more elegantly, in the original.
So why is it so riveting? I believe that Part II's performances overcome its screenplay. Al Pacino's Michael Corleone is so interesting that I don't mind that all his character does in this film is live out the consequences of his earlier choices. Diane Keaton's Kay Corleone is so heartbreaking that I nearly wept for her. Robert Duvall's Tom Hagen is the most scarily efficient man I've seen in film in a long time. And Robert DeNiro's young Vito is everything we might have expected young Vito to be: cunning, brave, charismatic; a man who commands respect.
It's damn hard for actors to rise above their source material and bring real art from mediocrity, but this cast pulls it off. They're what make watching THE GODFATHER, PART II time well spent.
2 comments:
I agree, but I also think what makes part 2 interesting is the flashbacks to a young Vito. That is my favorite part.
The rest is really a rehash of the first one. But the acting is great and it is still as well done as the first, but no better or different.
Glenn
Hi Glenn,
I agree that DeNiro as Vito is excellent. It makes me miss the old DeNiro.
On a personal note, I passed my FAA checkride today, and am now licensed to fly 757s and 767s! Maybe now I'll have the time to watch some movies. :)
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