The Godfather is An Offer No Audience Can Refuse!

Rating: 9/10 (31 March 2015)

The Godfather is a textbook on cinematic lucidity - an exquisite, cohesive Mafia epic that is rightly hailed as an all-time high watermark of American cinema.
Based on the novel by Mario Puzo, The Godfather constructs a sprawling family saga that tells the story of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) who is the spider at the center of a web of deceit, murder and larceny. When the Don is left incapacitated by an attempted assassination from a rival crime family, the family quickly seeks to fill the power vacuum left by his absence and it is left up to his sons - the hot tempered Sonny (James Caan), meek mild Fredo (John Cazale), adopted Irish son Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), and the fiercely independent Michael (Al Pacino) - to run the Corleone clan. Hardened by the reprisals taken against his family, the 'white-sheep' son Michael Corleone is drawn irresistibly into the gang warfare, which hints at the beginning of his moral descent. Thus underlines the tragedy of The Godfather, with the sins of the father bestowed upon his children, who if not met by death's hand will be plunged into hellfire for their actions. But, underneath all the slayings and sinister "offers you can't refuse" this is an immigrant family drama about assimilation, blood loyalty and honor.
The Godfather has a richly operatic feel to it, thanks to the solemn and stately classicism that Francis Ford Coppola brings to his pulpy material. He doesn't waste a single frame of celluloid in telling the story of the Corleone family. Every scene illuminates the motivations behind each character and dilemma within the family and all the people that surround it. The artistry of Coppola combined with Gordon Willis' spot-on cinematography and Nino Rota's haunting score covers many scenes in a deep veil of shadow, ensconcing the audience in an atmosphere of unconditional involvement.
Each performance is a vignette that fits exquisitely into the whole picture. The character of Vito exhibits the brilliance and innovation of Brando's thespian prowess, creating a staggering mafia figure within a world of stereotype. Brando's restrained motions and rasping speech patterns are stunningly suggestive of power while his actions (courtesy of the script) wield it. His resident power, his sheer innate force, has rarely seemed weaker. As Vito's hesitant son, Pacino rises to the occasion admirably. He beautifully underplays Michael's evolution from returning war hero to the new head of the Corleone family. Caan, gives a splendid portrayal as the hot-headed Sonny while Robert Duvall is steadily efficient as Tom Hagen. Diane Keaton is just right as Michael's oblivious love Kay.
The Godfather will continue to hold a central place in cinema history, an epic which has colored everything made subsequently with its imagery and operatic scope. An enduring masterpiece!