Goodfellas Paper
1144 Words
Apr 23rd, 2012
5 Pages
Paper on “Goodfellas” movie
Martin Scorsese does an exquisite job of making this film real. When Henry is still young, his innocence is displayed so subtly, but with profound clarity. The same can be said for all the scenes in the movie. The characters often seem to live in a different world, with their frequent killings and the absence of emotion that they display. Then all of a sudden, you'll find yourself identifying with the character, and they will seem so classically human. The Gangster, as Robert Warshow puts it, is a “quintessential 'tragic hero', a character whose very nature and deeds ultimately condemn them to a short and fruitless existence, outside of the boundaries of normal society”. The Gangster's place within cinema is …show more content…
Martin Scorsese does an exquisite job of making this film real. When Henry is still young, his innocence is displayed so subtly, but with profound clarity. The same can be said for all the scenes in the movie. The characters often seem to live in a different world, with their frequent killings and the absence of emotion that they display. Then all of a sudden, you'll find yourself identifying with the character, and they will seem so classically human. The Gangster, as Robert Warshow puts it, is a “quintessential 'tragic hero', a character whose very nature and deeds ultimately condemn them to a short and fruitless existence, outside of the boundaries of normal society”. The Gangster's place within cinema is …show more content…
The movie portrays the spirit of the Mafia and demonstrates their distinctive values, customs amd gangster like lifestyle. Over the next 20 years, Paul Cicero treated Hill like a son. The young man became one of Paul's most trusted ''mechanics.'' He was a driver, companion, messenger, confidant, strong-arm man, student of rackets and natural-born wheeler-dealer.[3] He just had one flaw: though his mother was Sicilian, his father was Irish, Hill could never be a ''made man'' within the Sicilian organization. He was privy to just about every one of the mob's scams, thefts and assasinations, but he was forever denied the status that pure blood would have allowed him. This was Hill's tragic flaw and, later, his value to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
As the story evolved, Henry and his gang began to get involved in areas that the mob did not approve of in any way – drug dealing. To make matters worse, Henry’s life started to spiral out of control as he started to “get high on his own supply” and takes on several mistresses, not to mention that he became an accomplice to Tommy’s murder of an untouchable, "made" man.[4] It soon became apparent that the once gratifying and romanticized life that Henry aspired to live as a child was tumbling down around him, so much to the point that he couldn’t trust those that were closest to
As the story evolved, Henry and his gang began to get involved in areas that the mob did not approve of in any way – drug dealing. To make matters worse, Henry’s life started to spiral out of control as he started to “get high on his own supply” and takes on several mistresses, not to mention that he became an accomplice to Tommy’s murder of an untouchable, "made" man.[4] It soon became apparent that the once gratifying and romanticized life that Henry aspired to live as a child was tumbling down around him, so much to the point that he couldn’t trust those that were closest to