The Price of Crime

We have here another Naples based mob movie, and having been made in the parallel era to the acclaimed TV series Gamorroah, this film in comparison is a dud. Whatever it was they were attempting with this mob movie, they definitely failed at it badly, and personally I'm surprised it was even made in its format. We have a biopic of Marcello 'Alendelòn' Cavani, but really it feels too fake, basically too much creative license has been taken with the storyline. We have a story that feels more like hagiography of the lead character, who is portrayed as a decent man, when really he is anything but when you scratch the surface. Much of the cast come over as cartoonish if not amateurish, and you often feel how did these guys ever rise to the top in the criminal world, the Inspector Clouseaus of the mobster world. There really isn't much to say. This could have been an interesting insight of the Naples underworld, but cuts too many corners. Doesn't help that Gamorrah steamrollers all over this effort, and you could simply argue that this was created if only to be dragged along on the coattails of Gamorrah. Personally, I'd recommend you NOT to bother with this effort.

I saw this on Prime and at the time it had a 5.9 score only because there seems to a small amount of reviews; hence why I am here to provide my view why this is more than a 5.9. Don't expect a glorified view of the mafia here ala Goodfellas, this is a more grounded story almost drama focused with some violent scenes but not in any gruesome way. The protagonist has to walk a fine line between his work (if we can call it that) and his family and the expectations that come from either side. The main actors played their parts well as I suddenly wanted to know what will become of them and the story was intriguing enough to keep glued till the end. At around 90 minutes, this film was not a bore and certainly not a 5.9. A solid 7 from me.

Well that isn't necessarily true. You probably are going to be able to handle anything the movie throws at you. While it is based on a true story (character), this doesn't say too much if you consider the rich history of crime in Italy - no pun intended. Having said that, the main character is quite enticing. Which is the reason his wife falls for him. But while he tries to keep his nose clean (is that a pun?), there is only so much he can do to prevent it (crime) to come to his home. Overall interesting, even if not as engaging as I reckon it could be all things considered.

Not only Marty Scorcese knows how to tell a mafia story, with old scores, in the pure biopic modern style. Remember Damiano Damiani or Pascale Squieteri, awesome Italian directors from the sixties and seventies, and I don't even speak of Francesco Rosi. The three masters of the mafia movies, the most true and authentic ones, not the euro crime genre, with brutality, blood thirsty killers - and macho men beating women every two minutes - galore. Poliziottesco films for the huge and mindless audiences; I don't speak about these films. No, the one I am talking about today seems to remain unfortunately obscure, that's a shame because it is very efficient, sharp, effectively acted and directed. And, I affirm that the italian made pasta are the best on earth, and the same with mafia movies. You have some garbage from time to time, I admit, but this little film doesn't belong to this category. I would put it nearly on the same scale as GOMORRA, the movie, made in 2008.

A nice mafia film on vicious struggles between Camorra clans. The greatest merit of the film, despite its relative lack of emotions, is to show very well and natutaly core Italian cultural traits: Catholic elements are everywhere, and male sexism is always present. The chaotic change of partnerships and affiliations among the mobsters is related to the decentralized way mobsters from Naples organize themselves in comparison to other mafiosi.