Director: Matteo Garrone
Screenplay: Maurizio Braucci, Ugo Chiti, Gianni Di Gregorio, Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso, Roberto Saviano
Starring: Salvatore Abruzzese, Gianfelice Imparato, Marco Macor, Ciro Petrone, Salvatore Cantalupo, Carmine Paternoster
Year: 2008
Languages: Neapolitan, Italian
UK rental release: February 2009
I've come to realise that, since the year or so that filmbore has been running, not once have I reviewed a film from one of the king's of European cinema: Italy! So, let's remedy this pronto with the epic gangster drama from Matteo Garrone, Gomorrah...
Starting in a beauty spa, some lads are getting pampered with tanning booths and manicures.Suddenly, there's a split in the group...some of these men have something else in mind! In seconds, four men get taken out at gunpoint. Time for a swift exit for our hitmen...
There's a war brewing between the two key factions, and this is just the start of the it. Entering a set of run down apartment blocks, introductions to our numerous leads begin:
Don Ciro (Gianfelice Imparato, My Mother's Smile, Il Divo) is a financier in the crime family. There's lots of money passing through the neighbourhood and Don Ciro redistributes this wealth to members of the clan. Even though he has been part of this crime family for many years, everyone is rude to him, paying him little respect. It's not long until he sees the affect of the crime war, starting to see a lot of people being moved. He's perturbed by all of this activity, draped in mystery.
Totò (newcomer Salvatore Abruzzese) delivers groceries around the estate for the shop owned by his mother. He knows everyone. He witnesses a police raid, erupting in a see of violence and anger, and spots a pistol and "stash" dropped across the courtyard. He takes the items to their original owners, raising his profile with the clan, putting some work his way.
Marco (Marco Macor) & Ciro (Ciro Petrone) a.k.a. Sweet Pea like to emulate the gangsters of Hollywood, like Scarface,. And like their idols, they are, most rebelliously at best, trying to do things under their own steam to the great annoyance of the local clan. And despite warnings from the boss, Giovanni, following a heist of a big bag of cocaine from a local African gang of dealers, they still want to keep running amok. But the Giovanni's crew are watching.
Roberto (newcomer Carmine Paternoster) has started working for Franco (Toni Servillo, Il Divo, La Grande Bellezza) in waste management. Franco is mentoring Roberto in his business, seeing huge potential in him. Learning how to pick the right spots, they must locate sites around the country to hide masses of toxic waste. It's an extremely lucrative business.
Pasquale (Salvatore Cantalupo, Fortapàsc, Lo Spazio Bianco) is a tailor, bidding with his boss for a large haute couture deal. No matter how busy this makes him, he gets offered an intriguing deal, teach his mastery in tailorship to members of a Chinese clothes factory. Greatly interested in this, he starts to discover how secretive his work for them will be and he's wary of the methods at hand here.
As our five factions of this culture continue down their darkening paths, they will all have to make a choice that will crush their being or elevate their soul.
Based on the book by Roberto Saviano, Gomorrah takes it's material from stories related to the infamous Casalesi clan, a crime syndicate of Naples and Caserta. And taking these five interwoven stories and making them work is no easy task, especially when considering the angles of each tale, the plethora of personalities at play and how to capture all of this visually with enough unity to justify this is an overall piece and not just a jumble of edited vignettes.
What's great to see is that visually, this movie nails it! We're treated to some rich colour schemes that contrast against some of the other templates of smooth, natural browns and greys. This is a subtle mix that just tickles the senses enough to get your attention. The filming methods stand strong too, with a genius choice of using a style not far away from documentary film making, with lots of handheld work and close ups, creating a very intimate tapestry to appreciate.
The use of many various locations also gives the movie huge scope. This approach improves your awareness of this world, tapping into the inquisitive sensations found when trying to comprehend a story's spatiality. All of these elements blend perfectly into a beautifully delivered package. It's artful but doesn't hold any air of pretentiousness. In fact, it knows exactly what it is: dramatic, genuine, and seriously cool.
It feels very free flowing, and not just because of the camera styles at play here. The dialogue is both sharp and playful, with conversations darting around each other; sentences teasing one another joyfully in a dance of delivery and wordplay. A lot of this may be thanks to, not only the adaptation of Roberto Saviano's book but the fact that this has been achieved with great success by the same author and five other screenwriters, one of which being our director, Matteo Garrone. The script could have fallen down with so much creative input, yet instead we are presented with wonderfully colourful writing, ensuring that both poetic and naturalistic approaches are considered equally throughout the whole piece. This adds to Gomorrah's overall candid vibe, sucking you into its world with effortless magnetism.
What also appears fluent is how the touch points between each tale are slowly unveiled at key points. It feels very matter-of-fact. The story eases itself smoothly into your consciousness as you absorb its many layers, that jostle in such a relaxed manner they bring none of the confusion that you would expect. Ensemble, multi-chaptered films commonly fail in this area and Gomorrah, thankfully, is a lesson in how to juggle intertwined stories; to present them befittingly as a whole.
This may be partly due to its bravery in its timing. This is a patient film, unravelling and re-interweaving each character's chapters with delicate grace, while still infusing deep plot lines. This depth is easily recognised through the separate story lines when illustrating the dilemmas of each main character: Don Ciro is deeply affected by clan members going to the other family in the war, further exposing his partly sheltered vulnerability; Roberto has to face the cruelty within the business he is trying to absorb and learn from; Pasquale is overwhelmed by the admiration of his new students and the drawn in by the temptation of improved finances, despite marring the long-term loyalty he has shown his boss over the decades.
All of the characters are beguiling, each in their own special way: Totò is aloof and impressionable; Marco and Ciro are boisterous and volatile, Don Ciro is considerate yet both reflective and defensive. Their traits should oppose drastically, instead attuning themselves to their respective plot lines and paying dividends to the collective tale overall.
These character exposition uncover many themes are at play here, addressing numerous emotions and principles at the behest of each other...there's both fear and courage, revenge and forgiveness, honour and deceit, redemption and damnation.
Behind all of this, however, is one key theme that's the spine of the movie, and that's peer pressure. This affects all of our leads, no matter what their background, age or quality of life, they all fall victim to influence and temptation. Question is, who has the fortitude and foresight to come out the other end and who will succumb to the unabating inevitability of temptation?
Gomorrah is, first and foremost, a crime drama. Yet, when you delve into it's ingredients you'll be pleasantly surprised to find numerous filming methodologies at play, both in its craft and courageous approach. Each morsel is perfectly enhanced, without a single flavour overpowering the next. It's rare to see such a gentle interfusion work so brilliantly turning this modern Italian cinematic treat into more than your standard gangster film. This is a subtly artistic piece that taps into your own scruples and shortcomings. There's something for everyone here.
Starting in a beauty spa, some lads are getting pampered with tanning booths and manicures.Suddenly, there's a split in the group...some of these men have something else in mind! In seconds, four men get taken out at gunpoint. Time for a swift exit for our hitmen...
There's a war brewing between the two key factions, and this is just the start of the it. Entering a set of run down apartment blocks, introductions to our numerous leads begin:
Totò (newcomer Salvatore Abruzzese) delivers groceries around the estate for the shop owned by his mother. He knows everyone. He witnesses a police raid, erupting in a see of violence and anger, and spots a pistol and "stash" dropped across the courtyard. He takes the items to their original owners, raising his profile with the clan, putting some work his way.
Roberto (newcomer Carmine Paternoster) has started working for Franco (Toni Servillo, Il Divo, La Grande Bellezza) in waste management. Franco is mentoring Roberto in his business, seeing huge potential in him. Learning how to pick the right spots, they must locate sites around the country to hide masses of toxic waste. It's an extremely lucrative business.Pasquale (Salvatore Cantalupo, Fortapàsc, Lo Spazio Bianco) is a tailor, bidding with his boss for a large haute couture deal. No matter how busy this makes him, he gets offered an intriguing deal, teach his mastery in tailorship to members of a Chinese clothes factory. Greatly interested in this, he starts to discover how secretive his work for them will be and he's wary of the methods at hand here.
As our five factions of this culture continue down their darkening paths, they will all have to make a choice that will crush their being or elevate their soul.
Based on the book by Roberto Saviano, Gomorrah takes it's material from stories related to the infamous Casalesi clan, a crime syndicate of Naples and Caserta. And taking these five interwoven stories and making them work is no easy task, especially when considering the angles of each tale, the plethora of personalities at play and how to capture all of this visually with enough unity to justify this is an overall piece and not just a jumble of edited vignettes.
It feels very free flowing, and not just because of the camera styles at play here. The dialogue is both sharp and playful, with conversations darting around each other; sentences teasing one another joyfully in a dance of delivery and wordplay. A lot of this may be thanks to, not only the adaptation of Roberto Saviano's book but the fact that this has been achieved with great success by the same author and five other screenwriters, one of which being our director, Matteo Garrone. The script could have fallen down with so much creative input, yet instead we are presented with wonderfully colourful writing, ensuring that both poetic and naturalistic approaches are considered equally throughout the whole piece. This adds to Gomorrah's overall candid vibe, sucking you into its world with effortless magnetism.
What also appears fluent is how the touch points between each tale are slowly unveiled at key points. It feels very matter-of-fact. The story eases itself smoothly into your consciousness as you absorb its many layers, that jostle in such a relaxed manner they bring none of the confusion that you would expect. Ensemble, multi-chaptered films commonly fail in this area and Gomorrah, thankfully, is a lesson in how to juggle intertwined stories; to present them befittingly as a whole.
These character exposition uncover many themes are at play here, addressing numerous emotions and principles at the behest of each other...there's both fear and courage, revenge and forgiveness, honour and deceit, redemption and damnation.
Behind all of this, however, is one key theme that's the spine of the movie, and that's peer pressure. This affects all of our leads, no matter what their background, age or quality of life, they all fall victim to influence and temptation. Question is, who has the fortitude and foresight to come out the other end and who will succumb to the unabating inevitability of temptation?
Gomorrah is, first and foremost, a crime drama. Yet, when you delve into it's ingredients you'll be pleasantly surprised to find numerous filming methodologies at play, both in its craft and courageous approach. Each morsel is perfectly enhanced, without a single flavour overpowering the next. It's rare to see such a gentle interfusion work so brilliantly turning this modern Italian cinematic treat into more than your standard gangster film. This is a subtly artistic piece that taps into your own scruples and shortcomings. There's something for everyone here.
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Alternatively, you could contact me directly about this film or my other reviews on pickoftheweek@filmbore.co.uk
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