A good mafia film consists of romance, comedy, regret and a whole lot of violence. It’s just a shame that it’s been a while since the mob has actually stolen the box office.
Malavita ticks all these boxes and more, including casting mob favourtie Robert De Niro to play the big boss and the tough as nails Michelle Pfeiffer as his wife.
Sounds like the perfect mix to play front-runner at the box office and show crime movies just how it should be done.
However, Malavita is a good movie but not fantastic. Don’t expect it to be a crime classic but as a De Niro fan, I still enjoyed myself.
The movie did do one thing right though, it made me want to be part of the ‘family’, living the way they do, solving problems with baseball bats and explosions.
The family in Malavita is the Manzonis, which consists of dad Giovanni (De Niro), mum Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer), daughter Belle (Dianna Agron) and son Warren (John D’Leo).
After Giovanni snitches on his mobster friends to the federal agents, he and his notorious Mafia family are forced to lead a normal life. Under the US government’s witness protection programme, they take on new identities under the supervision of Agent Robert Stanfield (Tommy Lee Jones).
However, old habits die hard and the family finds it hard to lead a quiet life. They end up drawing more attention to themselves than Agent Stansfield can handle.
Agent Stansfield is hired to watch the Manzoni family as there is a hit man on Giovanni’s trail, but finds it hard to take control when the Manzonis keep ruining the US government’s secret plans.
Yet, when Giovanni relocates to Normandy in France with his family, it seems like the quiet little town could be the perfect place to lay low.
Now passing as Fred Blake, after he finds an old typewriter, Giovanni decides to become an aspiring writer and script memoirs of his life against the wishes of both Maggie and, of course, Stansfield, who is trying to keep the family alive and well.
Then there’s Belle, the 17-year-old, who knows how to take care of herself when it comes to young boys. But when she sets her eyes on her maths tutor, she proves that a girl always gets what she wants.
The son, Warren, 14, gains a following at school when he works the student body to his benefit and creates his own mini mafia.
Lastly, there’s Maggie who blows up a grocery store in anger after some racial American slurs from its owner. She then befriends the priest at church, but this doesn’t last long as she decides to confess all her family’s sins to him.
Not long after the Blakes settle in, nine hit-men enter the town and are in search of Giovanni.
A lot of action, and a few Goodfellas references later, the family does what they do best, stick together and kick butt! And, before you know it … the family relocates once again!
This movie isn’t laugh out loud funny (although you may get a few smirks in), but it’s quirky and dark.
Director Luc Besson’s experimental filming techniques sometimes work for interesting visuals and pull the audience into the action. Yet, I still think he tried too hard to make this play as a somewhat homage to the Coen brothers. The violence was extreme and glorified the mafia life (this is definitely not suitable for the kids).
With that being said, the acting was spot on. You can’t expect anything less from De Niro. You know he can do comedy after Anaylse That and you know that any role in a mafia flick fits him like a glove.
Pfeiffer also seems to know what she’s doing. Atter all, she’s played the mobster’s wife on plenty of occasions (Married to the Mob and Scarface). It’s refreshing to see her in a comedy and not doing a bad job at it either.
Moreover, Argon and D’Leo also fit their roles perfectly. Argon is known for her all-American image on the TV series Glee, so it was good to see her break out of her shell and play a bad girl who beats up boys with tennis rackets. D’Leo plays the delinquent son brilliantly, plotting revenge over his bullies.
Of course, there’s Jones, who plays his usual agent role. Just imagine Men in Black, minus the aliens.
I wouldn’t say I was disappointed by Malavita, but I really thought this was going to be another classic mafia movie. Regardless, I was entertained for 111 minutes!
*Showing in Cineco, Saar, Seef II, Al Jazeera
