Review of Gomorrah (2008) by Eric M — 18 Feb 2010

One of the best films of last year that a lot of viewers missed, Matteo Garrone's "Gomorrah" is a bleak and haunting look at life in Naples under the rule of the Comorra (Neapolitan Mafia) and the lives that are destroyed by this vast criminal empire.

Based on Roberto Saviano's true crime bestseller, Garrone eschews standard gangster movie conventions in favor of examing the lives of those affected by a corrupt system from the businessmen on top who profit from toxic waste disposal to the dim kids on the bottom rung of the ladder whose idolization of the gangster lifestyle have fatal consequences.

Garrone never glamorizes the mob, but he doesn't preach either, and his approach is to take his time telling five seperate tales of characters trapped by a system that favors profit over human life.

Those expecting a gangster film along the lines of "Goodfellas" may be disappointed as this film lacks the more glamorous aspects of the mafia lifestyle, but patient viewers who appreciate a more unconventional approach to a familar topic will find much to enjoy.

Now available on Criterion DVD, this one is defintely worth seeking out.