The Godfather manages to achieve the impossible—I find myself emotionally invested in characters and situations that normally revolt me. I can’t glorify serial murderers and sympathize with them on any level. I watch them shoot, torture, stab, or strangle someone in one scene, then I’m supposed to care if their marriage is on the rocks or if their kid won’t talk to them? I want justice served! Let them rot in a jail cell. They’ve earned that, at the very least.

So it’s highly unusual that The Godfather pulls me in, but I understand why. The story opens with a series of vignettes surrounding a large wedding on a private estate in 1945. In the backroom office, Don Vito Corleone (Oscar-winner Marlon Brando) receives pleas for assistance or retribution. He listens quietly to these requests while petting a docile cat on his lap, and when he comments, it’s mostly about relationships and how important they are to him. Being a good father or husband, respecting family and friendship … that’s what counts. This is a barter system of “personal favors,” granted out of love and honor, to be paid back in full by future “favors” yet unknown. I don’t for one minute excuse the crimes, but because of this approach by author Mario Puzo and director Frances Ford Coppola, it puts a human face on the characters before we see any acts of violence.

We are then taken outside on the lawn, to the wedding reception of Vito Corleone’s daughter Carla (Talia Shire) to Carlo Rizzi (Gianni Russo). Throughout the singing, dancing, and celebrating, we follow Vito’s youngest son Michael (Al Pacino), a decorated marine, as he introduces his girlfriend Kay (Diane Keaton) to the rest of his family. Michael is fully aware of what they do, but he is an outsider, uninvolved with the daily activities of the “family business” at this point. And it’s through his eyes, as well as Kay’s innocent perspective, that I’m pulled into the larger story and this world. They gather for an official wedding portrait, and Michael insists that Kay join him by his side for the photo, physically inviting her into their world. This is how I’m able to forego my aversions and come along for the ride.

Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Gianni Russo, Talia Shire, Morgana King, Marlon Brando, James Caan, Julie Gregg, Al Pacino, and Diane Keaton.

While this movie is called The Godfather, and Marlon Brando is given sole star-billing for the title role, this is really Michael Corleone’s journey. Al Pacino boycotted the Oscars when he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination, noting that he had more screen time than Brando, who was nominated in the leading category (and won). I don’t disagree with his argument. Michael is really the protagonist of this film. His father Vito presides over the family and the arc of the story, but he is often out of the picture, incapacitated for a long stretch after he’s shot five times. Still, Vito’s overwhelming presence is felt throughout. But it’s Michael’s ascension (or descension, in truth) from an “innocent” bystander to an active participant to a church baptism (both physical and symbolic) where he claims his position as the next godfather.

This movie also has great style, which adds to its appeal. Many films today (and some, like The French Connection, due to retroactive tinkering with color-timing) tend to have an artificial, blue wash over them. This signals a “cinematic experience” to audiences whether they know it or not. It’s used in everything from car commercials to TV shows, and it’s a bit of an enduring fad, in my opinion. The Godfather has an overall golden tint that begins right away with the Paramount logo on the restored Blu-ray release. This vintage gilding serves to draw us into the story. Color-timing is critical, and I understand why film fans (including me) get upset when a movie is altered from its initial experience. Color evokes a visceral response in all of us. For The Godfather, having this filter is a bit like seeing their crime-infested world through “rose-colored glasses.” In any case, it’s effective, and it works. Aside from the visual palette, the music is sweeping and romantic—a feast for the ears. The main theme by Nino Rota is iconic, however it was discovered after the Oscar nominations came out that he had used it in a previous film (Fortunella, 1958). The score was then disqualified from the final ballot. Regardless, it won a Grammy and is considered to be one of the most recognized pieces of film music in history.

Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone.

The performances in The Godfather are uniformly solid. In addition to Pacino, James Caan as the oldest brother Sonny and Robert Duvall as their adopted brother Tom also received supporting nominations. They find humanity and pathos in their corrupt characters, but even smaller roles such as Luca Brasi (played by Lenny Montana) or Peter Clemenza (Richard Castellano) shine whenever they’re on screen.

The Godfather is really a soap opera  with an emphasis on “opera.” It has marriage, death, love, spousal abuse, infidelity, and double crossing. It’s the larger-than-life tale of a man who struggles with his identity, his morality, and his ancestral roots while coming to terms with an unavoidable destiny—which just happens to be head of a Mafia family. Pacino really is the draw for me. Watching his character grow colder yet stronger is frightening, powerful stuff. And because these characters are so well defined with such care given to finding the emotional core inside a group of inhumane mobsters, I can visit them often and without aversion. Every time Michael takes Kay’s hand and draws her into the family portrait at the wedding, I go right along with her.

The Godfather