The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Radio Ballarat and South West Victoria on December 18, 2020.

(M) ★★★

Director: Francis Ford Coppola.

Cast: Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Sofia Coppola, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Raf Vallone, Franc D'Ambrosio, Donal Donnelly, Richard Bright.

"You're right. That is a close shave."

Read my review of The Godfather here and The Godfather Part II here.

The Godfather Part III doesn't appear on many lists of the greatest films of all time. When it does, it's begrudgingly lumped in with its superior predecessors and listed as part of The Godfather Trilogy. 

The film has all the hallmarks of an after-thought, much like its inclusion on those lists. Indeed, Coppola admitted he only made the film because he was in so much financial trouble after his musical One From The Heart bombed hard, forcing him to go from auteur to jobbing director. He also admitted the story of the Corleone family was complete after parts I and II.

But Part III exists, and has been the much-maligned unnecessary threequel ever since. Now, re-edited for its 30th anniversary, the film has been re-titled as The Godfather Coda. It's a fitting name for this half-interesting epilogue, and the re-edit is a definite improvement from all reports (I have to admit I hadn't bothered to watch Part III until now). 

coda

noun

the concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure

The story centres on the now-legitimate Corleone family trying to make a business deal with the Vatican, which would set Michael Corleone (Pacino) and his descendants up for life. But the old ways come knocking - "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in," laments Michael in the film's most quoted moment. Forced back into the fight once more, he takes his nephew Vincent (Garcia) under his wing and tries to find a peaceful outcome in order to protect his family.

Part III is not as bad as many make out and has its definite highlights. Key among those is Garcia, well worthy of an Oscar nom for his role as Vincent, the bastard son of Sonny Corleone (played by James Caan in the first two films). He brings swagger and confidence to bear, somehow invoking Sonny while also making Vincent feel like a new, modern character in this ageing world.

The script boasts some great lines and in its readjusted "Coda" format, it flows nicely. It's still somewhat messy, although reportedly much better than before. The theme of redemption is particularly interesting, and the film's view of Michael Corleone (Pacino) is intriguing. It's somewhat off-putting at first to see him smiling and joking. This is no longer the villain of Part II - this a man wrestling with his past, his conscience, his regrets, and his very soul. He is righting wrongs as best he can.

The scenes he shares with his ex-wife Kay (Keaton) are fantastic, as the two try to reconcile who they are as people, separate from the family business, only to realise that Michael can never leave the business. Equally compelling are Michael and Vincent's scenes - the newly magnanimous Michael sees Vincent as part of his redemption, and initially hopes to save Vincent's soul if he can't save his own.

The downsides are many though. Robert Duvall's absence due to a pay dispute leaves a hole in the family that Tommy Hagen would have filled perfectly, especially given the big personalities of the previous films are down to just Michael and Connie (Shire). 

Much has been made of Sofia Coppola's performance as Mary. To be fair, she tries her best with some dire lines and does a pretty good job in places, particularly when Vincent breaks her heart. But she's woefully miscast.

And as good as the script is in places, there's a slight weirdness to proceedings. There's the weird cousin-love thing, the helicopter shoot-out gets a little goofy, Michael's diabetic seizure feels weird, there's an overuse of jaw harp in the score, and lines like "even the new Pope is in danger!" die even in the mouth of Al Pacino.

By the way, "Can Michael Corleone save the new Pope?" is the tagline this film needed back in 1990.

Also it's evident Coppola has lost his mojo. Look at the long-table board meetings in parts I and II and how they're filmed in a similar style to each other - they have class and panache and tension. A similar meeting in Part III is flat and lifeless, with no rolling camera. The celebration scene at the start (with its weird sound mix) doesn't capture the liveliness and symbolism of the opening parties in parts I and II. There are flashes of the visual style and grace of the previous films, notably in the third act opera and its simultaneous killings, but the flair and daring isn't there.

The Godfather Coda is not worthless, nor is it wholly necessary. The re-edit certainly seems to be an improvement on its original form - indeed, it's theme of redemption now seems to somewhat carry over to Coppola himself. One of the thorns in his legacy appears to have been plucked, healing it enough to make The Godfather Series more worthy of a group listing among the greatest films of all time.