Retro Film Review: Romanzo criminale (2005)
Romanzo criminale, 2005 Italian gangster epic directed by Michele Placido, demonstrates that the genre formula established by Coppola and Scorsese can also be used in their ancestral country.
The film is based by eponymous 2002 novel by former judge Giancarlo De Cataldo. The plot begins in the 1970s when three poor young men from a Roman suburb – Cesare Rocchi a.k.a. "Il Lebanese" (played by Pierfrancesco Favino), Franceso Avolio a.k.a. "Il Freddo" (“Ice”, played by Kim Rossi Stuart), and Bruno de Magistris "Il Dandi" (played by Claudio Santamaria) - decide to use the experience gained in juvenile prison to carry out the kidnapping of a wealthy aristocrat. The abduction ends in bloodshed, but trio nevertheless gets obtain ransom which gets invested in lucrative businesses such as gambling, prostitution, extortion, and drug trafficking. Through a combination of bribery and brutality, they quickly destroy their rivals from already established gangs and take control of Rome's underworld.
While "Il Libanese", who openly admires Hitler and Stalin, dreams of overthrowing Italian democracy and ruling as an emperor, "Il Dandi" is more modest and enjoys a comfortable life, while "Il Freddo" falls head over heels in love with the idealistic teacher Roberta (played by Jasmine Trinca). Meanwhile, their gang becomes the subject of an investigation by the persistent police inspector Niccola Scialoja (played by Stefano Arcorsi), who spends years attempting to put trio behind bars only to have his efforts hampered by mysterious structures at top echelons of Italian government.
Actor and director Michele Placido gained enormous popularity the 1980s Europe for his role as mafia-fighting police inspector Corrado Cattani in the television series La piovra. Placido, who has an impressive filmography in front of and behind the camera, takes inspiration from Goodfellas and skilfully uses Scorsese's techniques to tell a gangster story that spans over a decade. He uses a combination of nostalgia, a "cool" soundtrack, and a biting socio-political commentary.
What is particularly noteworthy about "Romanzo criminale" is that the fictional events are clearly intertwined with the infamous reality of Italy's "Years of Lead", very much like how Coppola in all three Godfather films based some of the plots and situations on real characters and events. Placido's film implicitly and explicitly connects its protagonists to never fully clarified crimes such as the kidnapping and murder of Christian Democratic leader Aldo Moro, the Bologna bombing massacre, the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, and the liquidation of prominent bankers linked to the Catholic Church, Mafia, powerful masonic lodges, the CIA, and the ruling Christian Democracy party.
The authors of the film clearly knew what they were talking about, given that De Cataldo, who also co-wrote the screenply, had based his novel and screenplay on the real life gang known as "Banda della Magliana", whose exploits were also covered by Daniel Constantini in the 2005 film Fatti della banda della Magliana.
The authenticity of the portrayal of this infamous period in Italian history is, however, compromised by a somewhat schizophrenic approach to the protagonists. On the one hand, their deeds suggest that they are unworthy of being called members of the human race, but the director cannot resist the temptation to romanticise them, portraying them as a kind of rebels from the bottom of society whose friendship and mutual loyalty are somehow more acceptable than traditional morality and the law.
Another serious flaw in the film is succumbing to clichés, especially when it comes to female characters. Thus, the irritatingly saintly character of Roberta gets her antipode in Dandi's girlfriend Patrizia (played by Anna Mouglalis), a greedy and unscrupulous prostitute always ready for betrayal.
However, Romanzo criminale still deserves recommendations, not only because Italy has got its own Godfather and Goodfellas. In the portrayal of bloodthirsty, arrogant, and unstoppable criminals connected to a hopelessly corrupt and incompetent government, viewers in many countries all over the world will recognise disturbingly familiar characters and situations.
Romanzo criminale was very successful, winning number of prestigious national film awards. This led to De Catalda’s novel being adapted as Romanzo criminale – La serie, television series directed by renowned filmmaker Stefano Sollima, aired from 2008 till 2010.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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