‘Gomorra’ feeds violent appetites
We live in a society that glorifies the gangster, especially in our cinema. From “Public Enemy” to “Scarface,” we cheer for the man who thumbs his nose at the establishment and paves his own way to success. It speaks to the underdog mentality bred into all of us, exemplified by the American Dream.
We live in a society that glorifies the gangster, especially in our cinema. From “Public Enemy” to “Scarface,” we cheer for the man who thumbs his nose at the establishment and paves his own way to success. It speaks to the underdog mentality bred into all of us, exemplified by the American Dream.
With “Gomorra,” viewers are offered a different perspective on the gangster. Based on the book of the same name, whose author now lives in hiding for fear of mob reprisal, the film shows how the Mafioso culture is literally eroding the Italian landscape. Absent are the penthouse suites, Maybach’s and tailored three-piece suites-hallmarks of the American kingpin. Instead we see rundown slums and drug bazaars. The closest the film gets to a Don Corleone character is Franco (Toni Servillo), who finds profit in dumping toxic waste into abandoned quarries.
Set in Naples, Italy, Gomorra follows five loosely connected story lines, demonstrating how the Mafia has infected every facet of Italian culture. There is Franco and his apprentice Roberto (Carmine Paternoster); Tot
