Gomorrah

Released by: Criterion Collection
Released on: November 24, 2009.
Director: Matteo Garrone
Cast: Toni Servillo, Gianfelice Imparato, Maria Nazionale, Salvatore Cantalupo
Year: 2008
Purchase From Amazon

The Movie:

Based on Roberto Saviano's bestselling novel of the same name, Matteo Garrone's 2008 film, Gomorrah, is a cinema verite style look at the modern day crime family as it exists in Naples, Italy. About as far removed from American mobster films like The Godfather or Goodfellas as you can get, Garrone's picture is one that puts stark realism first with little care for quotable dialogue or style over substance (not that Scorsese or Copolla fall into that trap, but many of the film's that theirs inspired certainly do.).

Taking place in a low income neighborhood called Scampia, the film tells five stories about its inhabitants. The first story follows two young men named Ciro (Ciro Petrone) and Marco (Marco Macor), who have grown up poor and want nothing more in life than the success they have seen others acquire. The second story follows Don Ciro (Gianfelice Imparato), a man who works as a carrier and pays the off those who remain loyal to the mafia bosses that employ him. The third story follows a gangster (Toni Servillo) who cares only about his business and who works for the mob by running a rather unorthodox operation dealing in waste. The penultimate story follows thirteen year old Toto (Salvatore Abruzzese), who, based on his surroundings, has grown up knowing the importance of earning the respect of the mafia bosses who control the town. The last story follows a popular designer (Salvatore Cantalupo) who winds up on the wrong side of the mobsters.

As the stories unravel, they intersect one another and cross over with each other until the film finds its conclusion meaning that this is not a film for those with short attention spans. It's a long film, and a very bleak and violent one at that, so it certainly won't be for all tastes but it's an incredibly rewarding one as well. The film jumps around a bit, which can make it tough to follow, and there's a lot going on in its lengthy two hour plus running time, but stick with it and it's hard not to walk away impressed with its scope, its realism and its power. There are moments here that hit like a punch to the stomach and that'll leave you feeling it for some time to come.

The film provides a very good feel for how unusually bureaucratic the 'organization' is and it's portrayed less as a crime syndicate than as a massive corporation. The film takes its stabs at criminal capitalism and paints a few different pictures, some sympathetic and some not at all sympathetic, as its various subplots weave and dodge and eventually come together. Along the way we witness the death of innocence, the positive side of a generous gangster who impoverished members of the community have come to depend on, the importance of conscience, and why you should never, ever try to double cross the mob.

Shot to look like a documentary, it's not a pretty film to look at. It's set in a rough neighborhood and populated by a rather seedy looking cast. The violence hits fast and hard carries with it sufficient impact that, while you don't reel from it the way you might if the characters were better fleshed out, you get the feeling that, in regards to certain characters in the film, human life means nothing. It's almost a commodity, a gambling chip in an area completely under the control of a criminal element who carries more power than the local government could ever hope to wield, let alone with as much ruthless efficiency.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Criterion presents Gomorrah in an excellent 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer in full 1080p high definition with AVC encoding. In short, the transfer is excellent. Supervised by Garrone and his director of photography, Marco Onorato, it stands to reason that this is how they want the film to look. There's a welcome coat of fine film grain present throughout but no serious print damage to note. There's a load of fine detail here that you'll notice not only in the close up shots but in long distance shots as well. The bleakness of the gritty surroundings are on display constantly and really help set the tone for the while, while the blacks are nice and strong throughout. There are no noticeable problems with mpeg compression or edge enhancement to complain about. The film is gritty and dirty and nasty looking in spots, but it suits the story so well that you won't care - nor should you, as this is obviously a stylistic choice on the part of the filmmakers and a very effective one at that.

The Italian language 24-bit DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track, which comes with optional English subtitles, is nice and clear. Surround channels are used effectively throughout and there's a lot of really impressive channel separation noticeable during the more action intensive scenes. The quieter, more dialogue driven moments have some nice ambient noise filling in the mix nicely but never overpowering the performers whose dialogue remains perfectly balanced and crystal clear throughout. Bass isn't overpowering but the low end is strong enough exactly when it needs to be. All in all, this is a very impressive mix that is pretty much flawless.

The biggest and best of the supplements on the disc is an hour long documentary called Five Stories, which is an extensive e and in-depth look at the making of the film that features some great behind the scenes footage as well as some revealing interviews bits. Shot by Melania Cacucci and presented in Italian with optional English subtitles it's quite a fascinating and telling look at the efforts that got this project off the ground and finished.

From there we move on to the first of a few interview segments Criterion have included on this release. Director Matteo Garrone speaks for twenty three minutes about his relationship with writer Roberto Saviano, and what drew him to this project. From there he talks about some of the difficulties he encountered trying to get the project finished as well as the death threats he received from certain parties when it was learned he was adapting the book for the big screen. It's a fascinating look into this particular filmmaker's work ethic and it complements the documentary beautifully. Toni Servillo, who stars in the film and who is a director in his own right, speaks for fourteen minutes about growing up in the part of Italy where this film takes place and how it shaped him as well as his thoughts on the film and its director. Roberto Saviano is also interviewed here, speaking for a good forty three minutes about writing the story that this film is based on, and how the book's success put him in some serious trouble with the criminal element who were none too pleased about the publicity that his work was receiving. In an eleven minute segment called Actors, Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Cantalupo, and Toni Servillo are all interviewed about their characters, their work on the film, and their thoughts on the stories it tells. This segment runs a combined eleven minutes.

Rounding out the extras is a theatrical trailer for the film, a handful of deleted scenes, menus, and chapter stops. All of the extras are presented in HD. Inside the keepcase is a booklet featuring an essay on Gomorrah by film critic Check Stephens as well as a chapter listing, cast and crew information, and technical information and credits for the Blu-ray disc. All of the extras on the disc itself are presented in high definition.

The Final Word:

An expertly made and riveting picture, Gomorrah is one of the best crime films of the last ten years and Criterion have rightly rolled out the red carpet for its North American Blu-ray debut, offering up not only a great transfer and an excellent audio mix, but complimenting the feature with an extensive array of supplements almost as impressive as the feature itself.