An offer you can conceivably refuse...

Rating: 6/10 (4 June 2009)

WARNING! SPOILERS EVERYWHERE!
The beginning of The Godfather is both horrifying and engrossing. The first shot is in a dark room, as a man speaks to Vito Corleone (Brando) of an appalling attempted rape on his daughter. The criminals have escaped American justice, but he wants (what he considers) real justice to be done. As it is his daughter's wedding day, Corleone (as a Sicilian) mustn't refuse a reasonable request. And thus, the opening scene of the film plunges the viewer directly into what is one of the most respected movies of all time.
And yet, as effective as this move is, it can also be extremely confusing. As a non-Italian viewer, the sudden immersion into Italian culture created a disconcerting effect.
Thankfully, for a film that is nearly three hours long, The Godfather has plenty of action going on, spanning 10 years, yet rarely becoming boring. Unfortunately, when it does become boring, it is because Coppola falls into the trap he fell into with Apocalypse Now: too much side material makes the plot irrelevant. His muddled concept of suspense at times left me completely bored. The Mafia is often treated as a bureaucracy, with men in tight suits pledging loyalty to each other, then promptly killing each other. Many of these scenes end up being ineffective.
Incidentally, it is curious that although the central characters of The Godfather are members of the Mafia, the viewer somehow sympathises with them. Why? I believe I've found the answer. We never see the individual victims of crime. We never see women reduced to prostitution, a family broken up by gambling, drugs ruining a man's life. The only cop we see with speaking lines is corrupt, and promptly killed off. Although the characters are, at heart, immoral, the effects of their immorality are limitedly shown. And this might be why the characters have such appeal: instead of gangsters, they become a dysfunctional family. Thus, The Godfather, often dismissed as a thriller, is most aptly classified as a drama.
For me, one of the (if not the) best scenes in the entire film is when Michael (Pacino) attends his sister's son's baptism, where he stands as the godfather. As the priest asks him whether he renounces Satan and all his works (etc.), Michael answers "I do". In a masterfully inter-cut scene (kudos to Coppola), this moment of the baptism is shown to take place simultaneously as several murders Michael has arranged. The juxtaposition of these two moments is highly effective (much more so, in my humble opinion, than the brutal execution of Carlo minutes later), and is one of the moments that make The Godfather the oh-so-sweet treat it is.
However, despite being one of the most respected movies of all time, The Godfather undeniably is flawed (gasps!). There are so many characters to keep track of, that several of them remain sketched-in shadows. In addition, Coppola has thrown in a subplot about Michael's life in Sicily after he flees America, which is not only ineffective, but also slows down the tone of the film, and brings in doubts over just how much Michael loves his wife, a situation affirmed when he lies to her at the film's end, denying his involvement in the murders. It just feels stiff, awkward, out-of-place, and slows down the film. And of course, I think that Michael ordering his sister's husband to be killed is possibly the film's biggest flaw. Michael shows positively no concern for Connie: his only thought is to avenge his brother. Well, this relentless circle of vengeance gets dizzying at times.
When it comes to acting, there's practically no argument. The Godfather is one of the best-cast films ever. Marlon Brando in particular works well. (Nay, I'll revise that-- he IS the Godfather.) His final scene, as he dies playing with his grandson, works precisely because of Brando's acting.
The score for The Godfather was composed by Nino Rota, and a very effective score it was! The theme in particular seemed to melancholically say: "If only we had listened to the GodfatherÂ…" Finally, I find it fascinating how, with subtlety, later events in the film are foreshadowed. The most brilliant case of foreshadowing occurs when a film studio boss (whose name completely escapes me) shows off his prize horse, boasting of its price and how he plans not to race it. This serves as such a clever way of foreshadowing the (gruesome, yet effective) slaughter of the horse.
The Verdict: Although The Godfather is undeniably a very good movie, it has been overrated, emphasis put on its good points, yet its flaws shockingly overlooked. It's currently #2 on IMDb's Top 250-- but it should, in my humble opinion, be a lot further down the list.
Overall Rating: 6.5/10