Thursday, June 01, 2006
PUZO AND GENIUS
By Stockton
The Godfather is a brilliant work. I refer to the movie and the book. Most people, men especially, love the film. They quote the film ad nauseum and it has worked it's way into the nation's mythology.
After some thought, I've concluded that the novel, The Godfather, is a true work of genius.
First, let me say that Puzo is not a great wordsmith. He is no Mark Helprin, no Pat Conroy, no Toni Morrison. In fact, his prose is pedestrian, flat, uninspired.
What Puzo does do brilliantly is tell a story. The Godfather is a page-turner, despite its literary shortcomings.
Puzo is able to do what few can: make criminal protagonists sympathetic, even likeable. That's the key to The Godfather. Vito, Sonny, Tessio, Clemenza, Michael....these are bad guys. They earn a living by shaking down others. They steal and they will kill if you don't play along. They are not lovable, bumbling burglars in a comedy. They are brutal, remorseless killers.
In general, audiences like characters they can relate to. They like ordinary people put into extraordinary circumstances and then they like to see how they get out of those circumstances. The group of soldiers in Saving Private Ryan is an example.
So, how does Puzo deal with protagonists that are ruthless killers?
Everyone killed or hurt by Vito or Sonny or Michael is worse than they are.
There's the two college boys that beat up Bonasera's daughter. They are sent to the hospital by some of Vito's thugs. Do we care? Nope. They sent a young girl to the hospital and we could care less that they'll soon follow her.
Jack Woltz, the high-caliber movie producer is a child molester. We don't care that he's intimidated into giving Johnny Fontaine a prized movie role.
Virgil Sollozo is a dope dealer that tries to kill Vito. We don't really care when he and his corrupt cop bodyguard, McClosky, are killed by Michael.
Carlo set up Sonny, his own brother-in-law. We don't lose sleep over that one either.
It may have been obvious to anyone who has read the book or seen the film, but it took me some time to figure this one out. In contrast to their victims, the Corleones come off looking, if not good, not too bad.
Next time, we'll discuss some of the differences between the movie and the novel. There aren't too many, but it's worth a look.
The Godfather is a brilliant work. I refer to the movie and the book. Most people, men especially, love the film. They quote the film ad nauseum and it has worked it's way into the nation's mythology.
After some thought, I've concluded that the novel, The Godfather, is a true work of genius.
First, let me say that Puzo is not a great wordsmith. He is no Mark Helprin, no Pat Conroy, no Toni Morrison. In fact, his prose is pedestrian, flat, uninspired.
What Puzo does do brilliantly is tell a story. The Godfather is a page-turner, despite its literary shortcomings.
Puzo is able to do what few can: make criminal protagonists sympathetic, even likeable. That's the key to The Godfather. Vito, Sonny, Tessio, Clemenza, Michael....these are bad guys. They earn a living by shaking down others. They steal and they will kill if you don't play along. They are not lovable, bumbling burglars in a comedy. They are brutal, remorseless killers.
In general, audiences like characters they can relate to. They like ordinary people put into extraordinary circumstances and then they like to see how they get out of those circumstances. The group of soldiers in Saving Private Ryan is an example.
So, how does Puzo deal with protagonists that are ruthless killers?
Everyone killed or hurt by Vito or Sonny or Michael is worse than they are.
There's the two college boys that beat up Bonasera's daughter. They are sent to the hospital by some of Vito's thugs. Do we care? Nope. They sent a young girl to the hospital and we could care less that they'll soon follow her.
Jack Woltz, the high-caliber movie producer is a child molester. We don't care that he's intimidated into giving Johnny Fontaine a prized movie role.
Virgil Sollozo is a dope dealer that tries to kill Vito. We don't really care when he and his corrupt cop bodyguard, McClosky, are killed by Michael.
Carlo set up Sonny, his own brother-in-law. We don't lose sleep over that one either.
It may have been obvious to anyone who has read the book or seen the film, but it took me some time to figure this one out. In contrast to their victims, the Corleones come off looking, if not good, not too bad.
Next time, we'll discuss some of the differences between the movie and the novel. There aren't too many, but it's worth a look.
