Gomorrah is a crime movie. Martin Scorsese gets an EP cred, which I guess means he fronted this movie for an American distributor. I can see why. It’s kind of a Mafia movie fan’s Mafia movie. It feels more like a documentary than a drama.
The barely discernible plot pits two Mafia families (Called Camorra, the Neapolitan version of the Mafia) against each other. It’s a typical crime drama where no matter how honorable you are, the crime always brings you down, the most ruthless gangsters come out on top and a lot of people die. Still, I liked the movie. It’s urban grittiness feels more real than most Mafia dramas and since it actually takes place in Italy, you get a real sense of hopelessness in the cramped apartment buildings where most of the action takes place.
It’s subtitled and there are a little too many characters, making the entire movie hard to follow. But if you’re looking for something different in your crime films, this adds an extra layer that you may have been missing. I’m going to give it a thumbs up. It’s been on Netflix for ages and is worth a rental if you like these kinds of films.
