No sharp suits here — Gomorrah is a more realistic look at mafia lifee
Gangster films always romanticize a life that would most likely be interminable in reality — sitting in rooms, smoking and chatting, and waiting for brief periods of harried transaction. The Italian crime epic Gomorrah sticks to this vision of gangster life, and perhaps a little too well — the film introduces viewers to a life so brutal, oppressive and inescapable that it’s often too exhausting to experience in one sitting.
Those who stick it out will find a modern crime classic, far removed from the appealing, ultraviolent tales exported from the U.S. (although Gomorrah has its fair share of violence). The film was wildly popular in Europe, perhaps due in part to its focus on the very real and dangerous Camorra family, a mafia organization that has tendrils in everything from drugs to civic policy, and even injected a large sum of cash into the rebuilding of the Twin Towers.
The film mainly takes place in a suburban nightmare of enormous apartment blocks surrounded by barren stretches of concrete and weeds. Gangsters mingle with garment makers, civil servants and little kids, but nobody is innocent. The labyrinthine network of familial loyalties, debts and vendettas is poisonous to the community yet keeps it alive — everyone is implicated and profits from the mafia’s dealings. Sweaty old men rule their individual fiefdoms (often no more than a short city street) with viciousness. Everyone knows the ugly penalty for crossing the bosses (as two nihilistic thugs who stupidly steal a stash of guns find out), but they’re willing to anyway, if it affords even the slightest chance of ascending the crime ladder.
Often, the film’s strict adherence to realism leads it to spin its wheels — the multiple storylines and intense focus feel like they would be better suited to a miniseries. The film is gorgeously shot, though, striking a fine balance between the hand-held insanity of a similar crime epic, City of God, and a more subtle and controlled approach. The natural scenery acts as a stunning character, too — the crumbling apartment buildings look like the remnants of some apocalyptic war, and even the canals of Venice take on an otherworldly darkness. A future cult classic, Gomorrah acts as a bitter antithesis to more romantic gangster flicks, one where wealth is fleeting and life is painfully cheap.
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