It's been debated on here many times whether people feel sympathy for Fredo. I was thinking about this the other day and I noted that one of the reasons I feel a little bit of sympathy for Fredo is because of what happened to John Cazale. It's hard to put my finger on why this is though.

I saw that HBO documentary about John Cazale and it was very good. You don't realize how many great movies he appeared in until they list all the flicks and how many Oscars they won.
I think its normal & healthy human nature to sympathize/empathize with anyone that appears to be weak or fragile. To not, in my opinion, is dysfunctional and a key characteristic of a sociopath and quite frankly a person who tends to be a bully. Also, I think everybody knows a "Fredo" in their life... how do you treat them?

(By the way - when we played "Godfather" in the neighborhood back in the day, NOBODY wanted to be Fredo!)

There have been other threads about Cazale, and I will repeat here he was brilliant in everything he did.

Both Fredo and Cazale were tragic figures--who met sad, untimely ends. Actors who worked with Cazale have said he had a great sense of sadness and vulnerability to him which emotionally charged the roles he played--Even before he had cancer.

The man just seemed to be an incredibly emotive actor with an astonishing presence--and he might've gone on to have become a star in his own right had he lived. I think his acting talent was just as strong as those of his contemporaries--Just as talented as Al Pacino or Robert DeNiro.

Al Pacino loved Cazale like a brother, they were friends long before they were famous, and he considered Cazale his partner in "crime" so to speak; He's said he would've done every movie with Cazale had he lived.

Terrific doco, it's called "I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1352717/

Available from The Usual Sources, last time I checked.

John Cazale must be the only actor ever to score 100% when it comes to the quality of films he's been in - a TV appearance and a short film aside, there's not even a mediocre film in the lot. Five classics out of five films.

And his long-term girlfriend was none other than Meryl Streep.

Regarding Fredo himself - part of the power from the portrayal comes from the weakness itself. Fredo's not an ubermensch like Michael, he's not a cold-blooded automaton like Tom, and he's not a cartoonish hero like Sonny. He's just some guy, caught in the middle of this mess, looking to make the best of his situation, just as anyone would.

That he would fuck up trying to make something of himself isn't surprising, and it's completely sympathetic. Vito, Michael, Tom, Sonny - gods of the Corleone Family, but almost otherwordly. Poor old Fredo? What chance did he have? Of course he got suckered in, and it's even more heartbreaking that he only ever wanted to please his father, and then, his little brother.

When the Saga was on AMC a couple weeks ago, I was struck by the early added scene between Fredo and Deanna. She taunts Fredo basically because he's not Michael. Since then, I've been wondering if Fredo's primary motivation isn't to impress Deanna.

In any relationship, one of the worst things any woman can do is publicly emasculate a man. I have seen men do some pretty bad things in response to that kind of humiliation.