Movie Review: Gomorrah Essay

The film features five people whose lives are influenced by organized crime. Don Ciro is a fearful middleman who dispenses money to imprisoned gangsters. In a delivery, Ciro is attacked by two gangsters who seek revenge from their traditional affiliate clan. To save his own life, Ciro offers his services to the two gangsters. Ciro explains that he can lure the clan to a trap where they can kill them. The two gangsters attacked the clan headquarters and killed everyone. Ciro is spared. Totois a delivery boy who witnesses drug dealers dump a bag of drugs and guns during a police raid. He takes the bag and returns it to the gang. The gang convinces him to join them. Toto agrees. Toto attends the initiation rites. After which, he is accepted as a member of the gang. At a particular instance, he witnesses one of his gang killed by a drive-by. The gang decides to exact revenge by choosing a particular victim. Maria Nazionale is chosen as the victim because her son joined a rival gang. Salvatore lures Maria to a particular place where she is killed. Roberto is a skilled worker working in a waste management firm. Franco, his immediate boss, illegally dumps toxic wastes in abandoned quarries. In a particular operation, toxic waste is accidentally dispersed on a driver. Instead of saving the driver, his boss hires a group of children to drive the trucks. Roberto resigns from his position in disgust. Pasquale is a skilled tailor who works for a garment factory proprietor (who is associated with the Camorra gang). He accepts a night job at the garment factory. Because the factory is a rival of the Camorra factory, hired gunmen open fire on his car. He escapes the gunning and leaves town for good. Marco and Ciro are teenagers aspiring to be top gangsters. They profit from buy and sell of drugs from African clients. The two infuriates the top bosses who conspire to kill them. Finally, the two are killed in a supposedly disguised operation. Success and Arrogance. Marco and Ciro’s success has infuriated the top mafia bosses in town. Their immediate boss warned them not to engage in rouse behavior in the street. Ignoring the warning, the two steal a set of weapons owned by the Camorra gang. To celebrate their success, the two fire off rounds in the banks of a canal. At a club, the Camorra gang warns them to return the stolen weapons. The two remain arrogant. The bosses try a different strategy. One of the bosses offers them to work for the mob. The boss offers them 10 000 Euros in exchange for the stolen weapons and a murder request. The two immediately accept the offer, not knowing that this is a pre-conceived trap. At the supposed target, the two are gunned down. Success, in this case, is manifested by the following behavior: 1) cheating the Africans of the volume and price of drugs, 2) firing off rounds in the banks of a canal, and 3) accepting the offer of the local boss. ‘Basking in immediate successes,’ the two are confident that they could outwit the local bosses. Indeed, their rouse behavior has infuriated every gangster in town including their immediate boss. Their successes are not sustained by rational speculation. Indeed, the two perceive the offer as an additive to their success, failing to realize that it was a pre-conceived trap. In any case, their successes have left a powerful impression on their egos. Both are confident that success is part of their self-consortium – that failure does not exist within their self-imposed bounds. In reality, this is a prelude to a tragedy. Arrogance is the mirror image of self-reinforced success. Arrogance is manifested by the following behavior: 1) ignoring the warning of their immediate boss, 2) refusing to return the stolen weapons to the Camorra gang, 3) ignoring the threat of the gang, 4) refusing to negotiate with the local bosses, and 5) failing to realize the existence of a trap. The environment of the scene can be described as serene, non-violent, beautiful, and economically prosperous. Yet, behind this aura of calmness lies a great evil. The town is a bastion of organized crime. From a macro perspective, crime organizations have persistent influence on the police, the local government, and the neighborhood. At night, drug dealers roam on the street looking for potential clients. At day, the local bosses engage in illegal transactions. The neighborhood is subservient to these bosses because they offer protection. The police is reluctant to arrest the bosses because of fear. Synchronous Sound. Sound is matched temporarily with the movements occurring in the image, as when dialogue corresponds to lip movements. A case example: when Ciro and Marco are gunned down, the credits rolls down to the song ‘Herculaneum’ (by Massive Attack). The thematic content of the song corresponds to the scene itself. Backlighting. Backlighting is deemphasized because the environment is serene and condescending. Backlighting is essential in scenes where hasty drug transactions are depicted.