While reading the other reviews of this film, I was surprised at how many negative responses it got. For one thing, people who complain that it was too long and seemed like a miniseries...the two and a half hour version WAS a miniseries, the cinema version was epic but not that epic. I actually prefer the long version. It is true that if you watch this trying to test your Italian language skills you will be hard put to understand most of it unless you have lived in Rome. I wouldn't have compared this film to the godfather or scarface, it is very much less Hollywood. The feeling of overwhelmed connection between crime and politics, the sense of no way out, the fact that the characters seem not to be particularly penitent, all of this is very accurate, it truly does evoke modern Rome. We are so used to mafia movies, big movies that show a rise to the top, very American Dream style, then the inevitable fall, because the characters are bad and have to be punished. This film is beautiful because it is so far outside of American morality. The characters die horrible deaths not to pay for their crimes, but simply because that is a risk of the line of work they are in. The deaths reflect the characters. Lebanese started a ruthless street gang in a dirty garage, and dies full circle, on the street, no pomp or circumstance. Ice, who always seemed to be scratching at the door of escape and salvation, dies without ever reaching it, on the steps of a church. This is significant, even beautiful, but don't give too much weight to the location. There are over 400 churches in Rome. The odds of being shot in front of one if you are going to get shot in a public place are quite good. I have seen Rome's criminal underbelly firsthand. While it is no longer what it was in the 1970's, it is still a world with no master, no real mafia rule, and a great deal of political influence on its higher levels. This is a beautiful film. While watching it next time, listen to and enjoy the cadence. Romans have a beautiful way of speaking. I also feel like people haven't given quite enough credit to Santamaria's Dandy. He is one of the best young Italian actors around in my opinion, and he plays his insecure, irritating, and sometimes hateful character with such great tenderness and vulnerability.
Review of Romanzo Criminale
