Gomorrah (2008/Criterion Collection Blu-ray)
Picture: B
Sound: B Extras: B Film: B
Matteo Garrone has been one of the most interesting
filmmakers Italy has seen in a while, with films like The Embalmer (2002) and Primo
Amore (2004, both reviewed elsewhere on this site) to his credit, but he
suddenly we did not hear from him. It
turns out he was working on what has turned out to be his most daring and
complex work to date, Gomorrah
(2008), a very realistic look at how the Neapolitan Mafia works and functions
and it is far from the oversimplifications of the Gangster Genre, especially as
it stands in commercial Hollywood fare.
To show this, he has to show the complex, evolved web of
deceit, deception and how it functions. The
well-rounded, effective screenplay based on Roberto Saviano’s book has a
screenplay Saviano co-wrote with other collaborators (Maurizio Braucci, Ugo
Chiti, Gianni Di Gregorio, Massimo Gaudioso and Director Garrone) takes five
different, supposedly unrelated stories and uses them to show how
all-encompassing and absolute the power of organized crime can be, especially
when the government is not doing or cannot do anything about it.
It becomes a culture that is more ingrained than you would
ever imagine beyond some pop culture cache (there is a reference to the 1983 Scarface that is simple and telling)
and though the Chinese actually invented the Mafia concept, the Italians
perfected it. However, in either and any
case, it is fueled by a masculinity that is more fragile and twisted than any
bravado could cover and along with exposing how the criminal aspects function,
it exposes how the men, boys and their souls function.
It is nice to see someone attempt this kind of
storytelling and actually pull it off versus the Hollywood
(especially post-Crash) counterparts
that tell some poorly written tales unrelated that are boring before and after
they are crossed. Here, we get a complexity
worthy of Robert Altman. Some elements
of Italian Neo-Realism are here too and Italy is rightly a character in
itself. The acting is also very
impressive throughout to the point you could believe you are watching a
documentary, even though that is not the style here.
The result is the next step in the Gangster genre after The Sopranos, with new deconstructions,
constructions and reconstructions, making this one of the most important
gangster films of any kind since Martin Scorsese’s modern classics GoodFellas (1990) and Casino (1995). Scorsese has put his name on the film as a
presenter to get it wider attention.
With the complex story, good acting and some classic moments, Gomorrah will only find a larger and
larger audience and turn out to be one of the best Italian films of the
decade. It is so haunting and turns out
to be so accurate; the real life organization is now threatening the director’s
life, so he really hit the nail on the head here.
The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot
in Super 35mm film by Director of Photography Marco Onorato, Garrone’s
collaborator on The Embalmer and Primo Amore. They have established a look, feel and style
that is rich and functions to further the narrative (and approved this
transfer), but while the DVDs of those films disappointed throughout, the
transfer here is very impressive. Their
switch to a scope frame from 1.85 X 1 on the last two films is seamless. The film has been styled in a way that uses
shadow and eschews detail in many instances, then we get shots that are vivid,
colorful, clean, clear and have fine depth for this format that would rate
higher than the overall transfer. The
sacrifice is worth it to make the film work and this one of the best Super 35mm
film transfers we have seen on Blu-ray in a long while.
The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mix is from a 24-bit
source of the original multi-channel master that is pretty good throughout with
its interesting use of silence and sound effects. This is clean, smooth and clear, but some
audio can sound limited from the location recording and that results in a sometimes
inconsistent soundfield. Otherwise, this
is a rich mix and is satisfying for the most part.
Extras include a booklet inside the DVD case with tech
info, illustrations and an essay by Chuck Stephens, while the DVD has the Theatrical
Trailer, Deleted Scenes, Five Stories
(a 60-minutes making of piece), new interviews with Garrone & Actor Toni
Servillo, another video interview with Writer Saviano and a short video piece
featuring Servillo and Actors Gianfelice Imparato and Salvatore Cantalupo.
For more of Garrone’s films, try these links:
The Embalmer
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1011/Embalmer+(2002,+Italy)
Primo Amore
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3031/Primo+Amore+(First+Love)
- Nicholas Sheffo
