Gomorrah, 2008

About 3.5 stars. A friend who knows Italy well suggested this. She said to look at it dispassionately, as it depicts the sort of public-housing semi-working poor who hang out and get involved in organized crime--"The Camorra," hence the pun of the title. (Her son had interviewed the book author for a newspaper.) Apparently a fair number of locals, non-professional actors, took part in the movie and it does have the tang of reality. The two young thugs could be found almost anywhere in the world, totally disconnected from social and psychological reality, in for the kicks, thinking little about tomorrow, or the dangers involved. In part this is due to the familial feeling in Italian life, protective toward the young for example, even when they are behaving like idiots. A tough crime story that does not feel exploitative, but does not have a dry documentary feel by any means, in part because there are so many vaguely pleasant (if totally misguided) young people in it. There's the adolescent kid delivering groceries who wants to be a gang member and another cocky one called, half-appropriately, Sweet Pea. Wasted youth, marginal lives, ordinary older guys who are big crooks, sometimes resorting to violence. The one glimmer of "the good life" beyond the neighborhoods is seen when a movie star is seen wearing an expensive designer dress that one group specializes in making cheap copies of, which is a fascinating sub-story. The roots of "The Godfather" and its special slice of culture are clearly haunting this modern-day, zero-glamour look at life. 5.09

What did you think about this review?

Thank you for voting.

Like Dislike

Abuse report sent

Report abuse

"GOMORRAH" the movie is actually worse than the book it's based upon, which is quite an accomplishment. The film is a jumble of about seven or eight non-connected stories regarding various criminals -- from a 15-year-old wannabe to an old businessman profiting from toxic waste, from minor thugs and their heists to big-bellied brutes and their homicides. They could be plying their underworld trade anywhere, even Newark or Marseilles. The director and script make no attempt to connect the dots, to put together the crimes and the crime-makers into an overall pattern or to expose the strings of a crime family or a rotten society. Neither documentary nor drama, the film is a mess of characters you haven't been made to care about and plot-lets you're not interested enough to follow. Don't be misled into thinking this film will reveal anything about the Camorrah crime syndicate in Naples -- let alone provide any of the thrills of a crime movie or documentary.

What did you think about this review?

Thank you for voting.

Like Dislike

Abuse report sent

Report abuse