"I'm Tony Montana!" -MarcoAmerican cinema, over the years, has had quite a love affair with the idea of gangters and the gangster lifestyle. From "The Godfather" films to "Scarface" and beyond, there's almost a sort of romanticism with the idea of being above the law and above reproach. Even when someone takes a fall, it's done with such grandness that even death is a story worth carrying on one's name. "Gomorrah" is a film meant to turn the love affair with gangsters on its head. Directed by Matteo Garone, "Gomorrah" is relentless in its authenticity, rawness, and overall realism of what a life of crime is really like, sitting far from the dream its often perceived to be.
The movie opens in a tanning salon, wth several guys, with seeming clout amongst the local mob, enjoying themselves and relaxing in the booths. In no time at all, the salon has turned into a mob-hit bloodbath. This shows no matter how high up or respected you are, someone can still get at you and your wonderful life can end just like that. All this, and the opening credits have yet to roll.
The movie then continues on by jumping between five different stories that mildly intersect in ways, but are tied to the much larger theme of the Comorrah, the Italian mob. The people whose stories we follow are:
-Don Ciro,an aging money runner
-Toto, a 13 year old delivery boy being funneled into the gang system
-Roberto, a young graduate that is given an opportunity in waste management
-Pasquale, a high fashion designer
-Marco and Ciro, two teenagers who are in love with the idea of being gangsters
With this film being achingly realistic, its safe for one to assume that no one has a happy story to tell. Don Ciro is growing old and lacks any respect from anyone that he is helping. Toto loses his best friend to a rival gang and eventually becomes pressed with giving up someone he cares about for the sake of the gang. Roberto is immediately thrown into a questionable moral predicament and struggles with coming to terms with it. Pasquale is given an outside offer that conflicts with the Comorrah's interest in his business, and Marco and Ciro are so delusional in there affection for the gangster life that it continually leads them into terrible situations and could ultimately lead to their demise. Everyone seems to be stuck in a proverbial box that there is just no way out of. It adds tension to every moment and a sort of hopelessness that can almost become overwhelming.
Most of these feelings the movie gives would have just fallen flat without an amazing cast. Shot in a way that feels very similar to the equally polarizing "City of God", "Gomorrah" often feels like you are watching a documentary and that these actors really are living these lives. Its a testament to their abilities, as well as to the real-life stories they are portraying.
Another amazing aspect of the film is the cinematography and location. We are shown the slums and dregs of Italy, far from the fanciful places people often dream of visiting and falling in love at. Even when we visit a better location, the colors are diminished and really pull across the bleakness of the story in a visual way that matches perfectly. Bleakness aside, it's also fascinating to me to see this other side of Italy. One of my favorite things about watching foreign cinema is getting a grander sense of the country and setting than just the glamourized sections we always hear about and see. This very same idea ties exactly into the way this movie portrays a mob life. All aspects are shown, proving that all things are far from perfect and desirable.
Those doubting some of the realism of the film would do themselves a favor and look up the book "Gomorrah", written by Roberto Saviano, detailing the Comorrah and the organized crime way of life currently existing in Italy. Saviano has been dealt many a death wish since the publishing of the book in 2006 and remains in somewhat protective custody, another telling example of this real life violence being demystified.
"Gomorrah" is a shocking portrayal of the organized crime dealings in Italy. It will pull you in, break your heart, and hopefully leave you with a completely different perspective on this idea of gangsters that we as a culture love so much. It left me with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, and I'm someone on the outside looking in.
