Choose a film in which a character is corrupted by the society that surrounds
him/her.
Briefly describe how the corruption takes hold and go on to show how the
filmmaker involves you in the fate of this character.
Francis Ford Coppolla’s ‘The Godfather’ explores many various themes and
conflicts. It is set in 1940’s New York and centres around the Corleone mafia
family. The main character, Michael, is the youngest son of the family and
film follows him as the society around him and the events that take place lead
him into a life of corruption and evil.
The opening sequence introduces Michael. He enters his sister’s wedding as
the decorated war hero, a part of the establishment. His father watches him
from within the darkness of his study, this is in contrast to the brightness
outside of the wedding. All of the other men wear black suits, Michael is
immediately set apart from them by his beige army uniform. This suggests
the separation of Michael from the evil dealings of the don and the Mafia as a
whole. Don Corleone is in the study engulfed by darkness, Michael is outside
in the light. All mafia men are wearing dark black suits, Michael is wearing a
light army uniform.
Michael’s girlfriend Kay continues this idea of separation from the corrupt
society around him. She is a blonde American who smokes, she is unlike
nearly every other person at the wedding because she is a full bloodied
American. All the other women at the wedding have Italian looks and are
Italian. Michael by choosing Kay has rejected his Italian heritage. The couple
choose to sit in a quiet corner at the wedding, completely away from everyone
else including his family who have to come and greet him. This is yet another
example of his separation from the corrupted society that surrounds at the
start of the film. We see Michael’s complete rejection of the society that
surrounds him when he states ‘That’s my family Kay, not me.’
The corruption starts to take hold shortly after the attempted assassination on
his father, it is his love for his father that leads him into a life of corruption and
evil. We see the first change in Michael’s character when he visits his father
in hospital after the failed attempt on his life. The Don was without any
protection , Michael seeing this as another assassination attempt immediately
takes control and tells his father ‘ I’m with you now.’ foreshadowing his entry
into ‘The Family,’
We next see the corruption strengthen its weak grip on Michael’s character
the day after the hospital incident. ‘The Family’ counsel is being held to
decide what to do. The misc en scene is vital here as we see Michael once
again dressed in brown seated in the centre of the room whilst the others
discuss what the ‘Family’s’ reaction should be to another attempt on the Don’s
life. Michael stays silent during their discussion until his older brother Sonny
decides they must wait for their revenge. Michael then takes control and
outlines his plan to execute the drug dealer Sollozzo and the dirty cop
McCluskey, both of whom are responsible for his father’s assassination. As
he does this the camera zooms in till he is in close up finishing with the words
‘I’ll kill’m both.’ At this point both the audience and Sonny are shocked by this
bold statement. The scene ends with the words ‘It isn’t personal Tom, strictly
business.’ We see the beginning of Michael’s corruption as for the first time
he involves himself in the ‘Family’ business. This is also the last time we see
Michael in light coloured clothes. As he is corrupted by the society around
him Coppolla has him wear black suits like all the other corrupted men in the
Mafia.
However, Michaels real baptism into the ‘Family’ tkes place when he kills both
the policeman McCluskey and the drug dealer Sollozo. Michael feels he has
to kill these two men to protect his father, he even gives Sollozo one last
chance not to be killed by asking him for a guarrantee for his fathers safety.
This is rejected and we can see that Michael has no other choice but to kill
these men. At this point we feel sympathy for Michael, he is frightened and
distressed. We see him holding his head in his hands just moments before
the killing indicating he needs to calm and compose himself. However the
ever rising noise of a passing train which drowns out all other noise as it
becomes so loud emphasises the chaos in his mind. The noise rises and
eventually becomes non diegetic, it suggests the growing tension which
climaxes with the murder.
Although Michael has just committed an evil deed we understand why he did
this and sympathise with his reasons. However, Coppola portrays a man who
has been totally corrupted by the society around him in the baptism scene
near the end.
Michael’s only murders up to this point have been those of the drug dealer
Sollozo and the crooked cop McCluskey, both murders carried out to protect
his father. This scene however ends in the cold blooded execution of the
heads of five families, all of this ordered by the corrupted Michael Corleone.
Michael in a black suit like all other Mafioso men stands godfather to his
nephew on the same day that he has these men killed. Coppola uses cross
cutting shots to show that these killings take place at the same time as the
baptism, the organ music and intoning of the Latin mass continues throughout
as a diegetic sound in the church and non diegetic at the scene of the killings,
this ties both of them together.
The organ music continues as the priest begins the vows. He asks Michael
‘Do you believe in God the almighty maker of heaven and earth.’ At this point
there is a pause in the music, we await Michaels response. This is his final
crossing into corruption. To accept God and the teachings of Jesus Christ,
knowing he has ordered the murders of at least five men is the ultimate sin
from which he cannot be cleansed and fully showing how he has been totally
corrupted by the evil society which surrounds him.
Finally Coppola brushes aside any lasting sympathy we might have for
Michael when he kills his godson’s father. This is not a murder like the others,
we are repeatedly told throughout the film that here is a huge difference
between violence that is ‘Business’ and that which is ‘Personal’. Up to now all
of Michael’s murders have been ‘Business’. In an attempt both his family and
his mafia ‘Family’ however this is different.
Michael watches as his brother in law is garrotted in the front seat of his car.
The camera is sat on the bonnet of the car and we watch as Carlo writhes and
twists in agony, punching a hole in windscreen. We are horrified at the
gruesome death, however the camera cuts to Michael who watches and
shows no emotion.
This is the point where we see what Michael has become. Michael has
vowed to protect his godson yet makes him fatherless alittle later that day.
The film closes on Michael accepting handshakes and bows in the same
study where we saw his father in the same situation and we see how he has
become what he once rejected. He has been totally corrupted by the society
around him.