The Godfather Part III
(1990)
This
is a solid conclusion to the trilogy, but it needed to be a lot more than that
to live up to its predecessors.
Its most infamous failing is the casting of
Sophia Coppola as Michael's daughter Mary. With Winona Ryder dropping out due
to exhaustion, Coppola cast his offspring in a fit of nepotism that renders the
film's love story inert. I feel a bit sorry for Sophia; she's painfully
self-conscious in the role, and her father shouldn't have pushed her into that
position. Laura San Giacomo, who was considered, would have been a much better
choice.
In contrast, Andy Garcia is perfect as Sonny''s hot-headed son Vincent,
and squares off against the also-great casting of Joe Mantegna as the new
generation of Mafia. Bizarrely, De Niro apparently wanted the part of Vincent
(Madonna put herself forward for Mary!).
The film's plot is actually very strong, based
on the Vatican banking scandals and the (suggested to be assassination) death
of Pope John Paul I. Added to that the struggling-to-stay-legit Michael and you
have ample room for drama. And it does sustain the interest, but it just
isn't as well crafted as expectations required it to be. Coppola didn't have
enough time to finesse the script, and the pressure to meet a release date is
evident in the finished film. The climactic set piece of multiple intercut hits
has the ambition to top anything in the previous films but lacks precision in
the editing and occasionally looks a bit clumsy.
Coppola only ended up
returning to the series due to Zoetrope's financial woes (Tucker: The Man and
His Dream had bombed), and with that kind of reluctance it's a wonder it's as
good as it is. It's a great shame that Robert Duvall didn't show (the casting
of George Hamilton was much-mocked at the time, but he turns in a perfectly
decent performance); in the original script he was very much central to the
story, set to inform on the Corleone family. But Duvall realised he was
effectively the co-lead and asked for more money. And dropped out when he was
refused.
Pacino's ageing acting occasionally descends into ham, and his
stroking-out scene is particularly embarrassing. While he's never less than
commanding it comes across as a performance in a way Michael in the previous
two wasn't. Eli Wallach's okay as Don Altobello (I'm not sure Frank Sinatra
would have been superior) but overdoes the "I'm an old, simple man"
act. Of the returning cast, Talia Shire fares best, positioned now as supporter
of Michael but power behind the new heir to the throne Vincent.
Ending the story with Michael's death is
appropriate, but I would quite like to have seen the mooted fourth chapter,
with Vincent's Don contrasted with the young Sonny. This plot line was
originally considered for one of the many drafts that were suggested for Part
III, many of which focussed on Anthony's involvement in crime (in the filmed
version he shuns the life). There was even a 1985 script that had Eddie Murphy
all but cast as Leroy "Nicky" Barnes.
***1/2