The Godfather analysis

The Godfather analysis

In this scene, there is an exaggerated cork noise which emphasises the silence in the restaurant as well as between the characters Michael and Solozo. It shows the tension between the characters and makes the audience feel uncomfortable and as if they were there.

Michael and Solozo start to speak in Italian to each other, this makes it hard for the audience to understand which creates tension as gangsters are very secretive and don't like outsiders, such as the audience, knowing what is going on in their lives. There are no subtitles available for the audience once the characters start speaking in Italian, which shows that Michael is an outsider too. Solozo is a dead man to Michael therefore having no subtitles indicates that Michael isn't listening to him as he is going to kill him.

The camera is looking over the shoulder of the characters which reflects their paranoia. Both Michael and Solozo are watching each other intently which puts the audience on edge knowing that something is going to happen but not knowing when. We then see a close up of Solozo's eye twitching, this is when Michael leaves to go to the toilet. This shows his paranoia and that he knows that not both men are leaving unharmed and he may be the one not leaving.

Solozo's voice fades while speaking to Michael which indicates that Michael has made up his mind that he is going to kill Solozo and therefore he no longer needs to listen to a word he says. The camera then tracks from a close up to an extreme close up of Michael showing that he has put himself in this tight position and there's no way out.

The noise of the train masks the gunshot, Michael times his shot well so that when he pulls the trigger, turning him from a civilian to a gangster, no one can hear it over the train noise. The noise of the train builds up his adrenaline and shows that Michael is overwhelmed by the situation. The gradual increase of volume reflects his fear and shell shock of what is about to happen.