Bella Mafia

I was extremely disappointed with Bella Mafia. I was expecting a female version of the Godfather (although nothing can compare with the actual Godfather). Although the plot was the best thing about this movie, it was lukewarm at best. The passion (when Vito loses Sonny), orchestration of events (like when Michael takes out the five families), and epic feeling are all missing from this film. Vanessa Redgrave is wonderful, although only about three people from the entire cast could actually pull off sounding Sicilian. The directing was very weak, and the progression of the story was hurried (every five minutes, you were seeing text on the screen that said "Ten Years Later," "Five Years Later," etc. Overall, I was VERY disappointed with Bella Mafia...not that I expected anything more from a "T.V. Movie," but that it wasted so much potential.

Apparently, I must have seen the cut-down version of 'Bella Mafia' - running time: 113 minutes - because like every fifteen minutes there was a time leap into the future (sometimes only months, sometimes years). I just didn't have time to get into the story that way. Also, it had this artificial drama feel to it and the same sappy score to go with it. Now, I understand this way of film making, but I don't exactly approve of it. But than, at the 1-hour mark, a lot of people suddenly get killed in two simultaneous scenes and this made-for-TV movie promptly becomes very, very interesting. And during the next 50 minutes, it totally redeems itself from the flaws of the first half. The ending is marvelous, especially when you've come to learn a lot about the characters' background. Nastassja Kinski's role is the pillar of all the drama & intrigues in 'Bella Maffia' and the best part of it all is that nobody knows about it (except for one person at the very end). There seems to be a two-part mini-series of this film (with a lot of extra scenes, I imagine - 2x105 minutes). So if you're interested in seeing 'Bella Mafia', I could advice you to watch the full mini-series. You'll probably get more out of it. Oh, and there's quite a few shocking scenes in this movie, especially considering it was made for TV. Not bad at all. Just be sure to be persistent biting your way through that first hour.

'Bella Mafia' was a TV mini-series that is available on VHS tape in two versions: one an apparently truncated version of 117 minutes on one tape while the preferable version is over two tapes and 180 minutes or three hours (but that includes seven minutes of previews of other films). One could think of this as a poor cousin to 'The Godfather,' but from the point of view of the women. These women are the wives or would be wife of the Luciano family. The men, father and sons, are all killed and it is up to the women to even the score. It has a nice look to it, but seems to overly draw from 'The Godfather' by using the name Michael and without compelling supporting character actors. Unfortunately for 'Bella Mafia' there are no equivalents of Al Pacino to be found here or anything resembling the presence of Marlon Brando. Hence, the movie is dominated by two presence's: Vanessa Redgrave as the matriarch of the family and Nastassja Kinski, one of her daughters-in-law. With the end of the first half of the movie, it is more than obvious what will eventually happen in the second half. The only question being what will be the details? In that sense, the movie unfolds very predictably and there is little suspense. It is a problem that the author of the novel, Lynda La Plante, never overcomes because she is also credited with the 'teleplay.' It is then a matter of appreciating the performances. All of the male actors seem to be weak and are easily overshadowed first by Vanessa Redgrave and then by the take-control of the film by Nastassja Kinski. Nastassja's performance is intelligent, as usual, and exceedingly even throughout at an elevated level. She is more than believable and has at least given a very good performance, covering lots of emotional range. Make no mistake, this is no 'Godfather' or anything close. Just never mess with Nastassja's Sophia character, otherwise one is likely to end up dead.

Unfortunately the acting of the main characters is the only reason to recommend this film. Vanessa Redgrave was at her elegant best, but the dialogue of her role left her with little/no opportunity to demonstrate her art. The same can be said for Nastassja Kinski and Illeana Douglas. Meg Tilly (whose character was never a part of the book), provided an adequate dose of comic relief. James Marsden can be complimented on his eloquent portrayal of the unnervingly human demon, Luca.

But those were the only good sides. The director of "The Last Don" did poorly with this venture, as did the screenwriters. Not only were the characters underdeveloped, but their setting, behavior, and movements were utterly unbelievable. I do not know what the director was thinking, but when the a set of four women remains unchanged and un-aging through the interval of twenty years--the viewer may well question the quality of the film. The accents, so well done in "The Last Don" were misplaced or absent here. To make a long story short (too late?), the actors struggle valiantly against overwhelming odds to do a good job in the mess of a script they must work with, but their battle is lost.

It was the summon of a bevy of beauties, led by the superb Vanessa Redgrave that caught my attention. To have THEM as the mob bosses was both intriguing, sexy and a bit different.

The colour's turned up too high, you hardly ever feel that this family is connected and the accents are well dodgy. The blatant way murder plots are carried out so amateurishly is astounding - you don't really go into a court, visibly bribe the security, announce that the gun is under a seat and then show the thing! Yes, we know it's there, we're not blind or stupid! Then, when you shoot someone but miss and someone else finishes the job off for you, you DON'T get let off scott free.

Despite that, this Mafia tale for the Jilly Cooper parade (is that too harsh?) is not without its moments. Jennifer Tilly, to me, is always very watchable and Denis Farina as Redgrave's husband actually looks and plays the part. He's been in 'proper' Mafia flicks, you know!

I did lose interest a bit two-thirds in and lost count of the bodies and who was doing what to whom. I didn't really care. But for a winter's afternoon viewing as the wind and rain was howling, it provided very amiable entertainment indeed.