Introduction
To begin with, the Godfather II is a fascinating film from the trilogy. In Godfather II, two storylines are developed: the story of Vito Corleone and the foundation of his business, and the story of Michael Corleone and his transformation into Godfather. Vito Corleone’s history reveals his past, his way to America, and the process of starting a business and becoming involved in organized crime. The other plotline shows the transformation of Michael Corleone and the methods he used to keep his family and family’s business safe. These two storylines demonstrated the differences between Vito’s and Michael’s approaches to running a business and protecting the family. However, one of the movie’s central themes is the legitimate business and political framework of cooperation of the Corleone family. Still, Godfather II focuses on the process of doing business, ways of its legalization, and operation within the political framework.
Discussion
Firstly, Vito Corleone established a family business Genco Olive Oil Company, and changed the approach to doing business, which helped him to gain the power to legitimate business. The first plotline of the film presents the history of founding the Corleone family. After escaping from Sicily, Vito Corleone moved to America, and because of Don Fanucci lost his job. This moment became crucial and decisive for the further career of Vito. After committing a few crimes, Corleone attracted Fanucci’s attention but continued to extort him. In the well-filmed scene of Fanucci’s murder, Vito Corleone shoots Don during a neighborhood festival, which helps him become respectful in the crime world (Michael). As a result, Vito and his partners created their own Genco Olive Oil business. In addition, Vito Corleone used his relations in the political and criminal worlds to make the criminal business look legitimate. Vito changed his approach to doing business; he did not take advantage of less powerful people; Vito used to help them. Hence, the history of establishing a business and gaining influence by Vito Corleone is the first step in revealing the theme of legitimate business in the movie.
Secondly, Michael Corleone runs a business differently from his father and uses different methods and people to legalize and Americanize it. After becoming Godfather, Michael Corleone’s priority became to protect his family and run the business correctly, as many obstacles were created after Vito’s death. One of the main problems during the second film is Michael’s doubts about investing in Cuba – nightclubs and gambling. In addition, Michael Corleone would like to Americanize business and avoid or decrease Italian traditions in business running. To provide such business, political support was needed, and Senator Pat Geary could provide it. The supremacy of Michael Corleone over the Senator is seen in the scene when he has a conversation with Pat Geary, shows excellent negotiation skills, and persuades the Senator to make a deal. In addition, unlike his father, Michael’s business policy was bloodless and distant (Patterson). For instance, Vito’s murders were violent but intimate, whereas Michael’s were calculated and cold. These qualities helped him legitimate business and take advantage of influential people like Senator Pat Geary. Thus, Michael Corleone’s approach was different from his father’s, as he was cold, distant, persuasive, and bloodless.
Lastly, family played a crucial role in Corleone’s family, and Fredo’s betrayal influenced Michael Corleone’s ability to legalize business and promote it. Family Corleone significantly influenced the criminal world, especially politicians, which created obstacles for other gangsters to run their businesses. One such was Hyman Roth, who, with the help of Fredo, attempted to kill Michael. The reveal scene illustrates the necessity of having influence and power in the criminal world. The most fascinating in the scene was the usage of costumes: Fredo’s costume was designed differently from Michael’s; it was white, while Michael wore black (Claman). Michael understood that Fredo was the traitor when he mentioned Johny. Fredo’s betrayal might be explained by his low status in the family and lack of power: Fredo was the second son of Don Vito Corleone but had no real power in the family. Nevertheless, Fredo’s betrayal influenced the further actions of Michael Corleone and made him colder and even more bloodless. Furthermore, this betrayal “broke Michael’s heart” and negatively influenced the process of business legalization and spread (Claman). Therefore, the family’s relationship influenced the business’s process, especially Fredo’s betrayal negatively impacted further business legalization.
Conclusion
To sum up, Godfather II had a wide range of themes, but business legalization is the prominent one. The second film focuses on running a business and shows Michael’s attempts to expand it and include different influential people to support it, such as Senator Par Geary. The movie illustrated the role of power and influence in the criminal world. In addition, the second storyline is presented, which shows the story of Vito Corleone and the establishment of a criminal business. These two stories show the difference in running the business between Vito and Michael. Lastly, the role of family was emphasized, and Fredo’s betrayal influenced Michael’s decisions and the political framework.
Works Cited
Claman, Jordan. “The Godfather Part II: Seeing is Believing”. Sites Tufts, 2022. Web.
Michael, M. “Little Italy Preserved Through Film: The Godfather: Part II & Little Italy”. Eportfolios, 2017. Web.
Patterson, John. “The Godfather Part II still has the power to surprise after 40 years”. The Guardian, 2017. Web.