The Corleones

Hello and welcome to my first post on this blog. This blog is dedicated to examining some of the finest acting performances of some of the most premiere names in Hollywood. In this blog I will be examining Al Pacino, as Michael, in "The Godfather", while comparing him to the late, great, John Cazale as Fredo in the same film. In this film the two are brothers. Fredo is older than Michael but doesn't have the mental capacity to be a real leader for the family. Families always have their leaders and this one is no different, but what does make this family unique is that they are one of the five mafia families of New York. They are led by their father, Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). The film starts with Michael returning home for his sister's wedding a war hero in WWII.





After an attempt on their father's life, the oldest and hot tempered, Sonny, takes over the family. Michael, always the quiet well meaning brother, shifts as a character. He offers to kill those who tried to kill his father. Once he goes through with it he is sent to Italy for protection. Upon the assassination of Sonny, Michael comes back to lead the family. We will examine one specific scene today. The clip is from the sequel, but we will use this clip and reflect on the evolution of the characters from the first film. In the first film Michael shifts more and more toward pure evil, which will be on full display in the sequel. Unexpectedly, in the first film you have a set up for the inner struggle between brothers seen in the second film. In this first clip we see Fredo is trying to explain himself for going against the family and helping those who tried to have Michael assassinated.



This scene summarizes what made John Cazale so good. Additionally, this scene illustrates the fundamental differences in the leadership styles of Fredo and Michael. First, we notice how much Fredo is trying to rationalize his actions, first it's about not knowing there was a hit, to just getting a piece for himself to being passed over. Fredo isn't accountable anymore, and that is at the heart of his character, and his character's flaw: weakness. It is a weakness of mind and of heart, earthly passions are everything. However, Fredo is often the symbol of weakness in the first two films. John Cazale, as an actor, plays this scene beautifully. One of the first things that stands out is his use of movement. His right arm tells you everything his character is feeling, it lacks strength and intent, similarly to his character. It is motivated in the moment and incensed by anger, frustration and sadness.

Michael, on the other hand, represents strength. He is calm throughout the scene, actually it becomes a bit eerie. He shows rage in so many other scenes, but this scene is an illustration of why one brother is the leader of the family and the other isn't. When it comes to business Michael isn't emotionally effected, you're either doing something for the family or against the family. In this scene Michael's pulse doesn't go above 20, and when you put that in the same room as Cazale, you have one of the greatest contrasts in characters you could ask for. Later in the film, Michael will have Fredo killed, and he will make this decision with the same emotion he makes all of his business decisions, ice cold calculation. Great films provide great characters that contrast one another and this scene is just a microcosm of that contrast.