The Godfather Part II (1974) * * * *

Directed by:  Francis Ford Coppola

Starring:  Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Diane Keaton, Lee Strasberg, John Cazale, G. D. Spradlin, Robert Duvall

The Godfather Part II picks up twelve years after the original left off.   The Corleone family relocated from New York to Nevada and Michael is looking for ways to move the family business into legitimacy.   Michael, unlike his father, is a ruthless and cold Don.  He is a long way from the war hero who told his fiancee he didn't want to join the family business. Not only has he joined, it consumes him.   He is surrounded by betrayal and corruption.  One has to wonder if he truly knew what effect being The Godfather would have on his soul.

Like its predecessor, The Godfather Part II opens during a large family gathering.  In this case, it's the First Holy Communion of Michael and Kay's son.  Michael is behind the scenes taking care of business, which includes a hypocritical, corrupt Senator (Spradlin) who wants to extort money, and Michael's drunk sister Connie (Talia Shire), who was made a widow courtesy of Michael.    She wants to marry another man.   Michael disapproves.  "If you go against my wishes and marry this man, I'll be very disappointed," vows Michael and one can only imagine what that means.  

Later that night, Michael's bedroom is shot up.   Michael vows revenge and seeks out the person who ordered the hit.    It could be any number of people, including those who pose as friends.    Michael follows the age-old advice, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."    Could the one who betrayed him be Frank Pantangeli (Michael Gazzo), a loyal underboss who is angry at Michael for not declaring war on family enemies in New York?   Could it be Hyman Roth (Strasberg), an old business associate with dealings in pre-Castro Cuba?   Or could the traitor be someone closer than Michael ever dreamed?   

This would be enough for one movie, but The Godfather Part II intercuts Michael's plight with flashback scenes of his father emigrating to America after his family is killed by a Sicilian Don, only to grow up to be the future Godfather.    Robert DeNiro (in an Oscar-winning performance) plays the younger Vito Corleone as a man who at first wants to be an honest citizen but circumstances force him to murder the reigning Don in New York's Little Italy.    Or was he destined to be Don all along?
DeNiro's performance is mostly spoken in Italian, but he effortlessly provides the genesis of the man who was the powerful, yet respectful and loyal Godfather.    These scenes provide an antithesis to Michael's scenes, suggesting, because Michael lacks the touch his father had, he is doomed to suffer.    Certainly Don Vito had a way about him that Michael would never duplicate.    Michael is simply too callous and ruthless to emulate his father.    The difference is that Michael is feared, but doesn't allow himself to be loved.   Somehow, Don Vito was able to walk that fine line.

Like The Godfather, The Godfather Part II allows us to care as tragedy unfolds.    Michael has a tragic flaw which forces him to sit alone in his yard at the end of film, pondering what went wrong.     Pacino truly grows into the role in this film.    With Brando gone, Pacino is center stage and creates a character nearly as mythical as Brando's, but for different reasons.     I also admired the supporting performances, especially John Cazale as Fredo, who takes on a bigger role here.   Fredo is the oldest brother, but weak and wounded.   His beef comes out in an angry speech to his brother,  "I know how to do things!  I'm smart.   Not like everybody says.   I'm smart and I want respect."    

The Godfather Part II doesn't make the mistake of many sequels.    It doesn't recycle the original, but it has a whole new story to tell.    The seemingly opposite scenes involving DeNiro's and Pacino's dovetail nicely in the final scene, which details how Michael's involvement in the family business may not have been by circumstance or accident.    There has been debate over which of these Godfather films is better (Part III never seems to enter into this equation despite being a fine film in its own right).    I can't really say because they go together as bookends.   They are a depiction of a family brought together and torn apart by crime.