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Re: What was Michael's mental state at the end of II?
[Re: mustachepete]
#1014883
06/30/21 01:00 PM
06/30/21 01:00 PM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 15,030 Texas
olivant
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 15,030
Texas
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Pete, I agree with you somewhat.
Michael has Vito's intelligence, courage, and violence. However, he does not know how to blend them as Vito knew and did. So, I conclude that, to a large extent, he simply mimics Vito.
As he sits on his estate during the last scene of II, he contemplates (of course, we don't know) what he has done and also, perhaps, his future. Vito would never do that.
Michael can never escape the sin of fratricide. In III, that fratricide comes crashing down on him. That crashing is beginning to happen at the end of II.
"Generosity. That was my first mistake." "Experience must be our only guide; reason may mislead us." "Instagram is Twitter for people who can't read."
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Re: What was Michael's mental state at the end of II?
[Re: mustachepete]
#1014913
06/30/21 03:53 PM
06/30/21 03:53 PM
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 773 Pittsburgh, PA
The Last Woltz
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Underboss
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 773
Pittsburgh, PA
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That's a really interesting question, Don Alfonso. I've always felt that his memory of Pop's birthday is really poignant. Look at the people in that scene: Michael has had three of them killed. Another was murdered by the Family's enemies. Connie and Tom are still around but haven't exactly had close relationships with Michael. Michael might be regretting how things turned out. Or lamenting what could have been. But maybe not. I would use the word "bewilderment." Who's the smartest guy in the room? He is. What decisions would he change? None. So why is he sitting there all by himself? It's striking to me that he's sitting alone at the end of BOTH scenes. I think he may be reflecting on how not much has changed, regardless of whether he was surrounded by family in New York or isolated in the "Sierra mountains." He's a much different man in GFIII. I wonder if that scene's realization - that he's always been a man apart - was the root of his attempted transformation.
"A man in my position cannot afford to be made to look ridiculous!"
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Re: What was Michael's mental state at the end of II?
[Re: The Last Woltz]
#1014919
06/30/21 05:58 PM
06/30/21 05:58 PM
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,697 AZ
Turnbull
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,697
AZ
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Michael looks contemplative of the future, as in, "What do I do next?" He's eliminated his enemies and stands at the top, alone. But, "alone" also means he's lost his parents, had his brother killed, and lost Kay. He has his children, but I think he saw them as possessions, not as the jewels of his life. I also don't infer any regret in Michael's looks--perhaps melancholy.
Like Woltz, I don't think that the flashback scene that follows is a coincidence. Perhaps Michael is contemplating the idealistic youth who signed up for the Marines on Pearl Harbor day with his current self. Again, I don't infer any regret from the cold hearted bastard.
Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu, E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu... E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.
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Re: What was Michael's mental state at the end of II?
[Re: Don_Alfonso]
#1015006
07/01/21 07:19 AM
07/01/21 07:19 AM
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,473 No. Virginia
mustachepete
Special
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Special
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,473
No. Virginia
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What is going through his head in that point of time? Not in that exact moment; I mean overall. The Michael feels "I don't need to wipe out everyone. Just my enemies." When he also kind of implies everyone is his potential enemy. I think that most of it is about Fredo. The taboo on killing your brother is an old, big thing. There's no mental gymnastics that Michael can use to justify it, so his mind is turbulent.
"All of these men were good listeners; patient men."
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