Originally posted by JustMe Read again that place in the book, if you don't remember.
I remember, and I recall finding (as usual) the book much more satisfying than the movie in that respect. It is a more detailed, more nuanced account of the exchange between Micheal and Kay and must go down as one of the most un-romantic marriage proposals in history! It's true that the legitimization of the Family business appears to be more of a priority in the movie than in the book.
Originally posted by JustME Why there should be a question? It's answered in the end of the book/1 movie: Corleones are completely legit after their move to Vegas.
Not completely, they still had connections to the old Family business in New York. And there was the little matter of Fredo's murder, and its implications on the "small-f" family. To have left the saga with GFII would have been to end it too abruptly. The audience has to see Micheal, the Senecan tragic anti-hero, answer for his deeds. This is portrayed in several powerful scenes, most notably the confessions to Lamberto and Don Tomassimo's corpse. Imagine watching MacBeth of King Lear without the final act.
Originally posted by JustMe It's strange that you find it eiter inevitable or satisfying, I'd say neither, absolutely unnatural. But of course, you're entitled to your own opinion.
"Satisfying" in the sense that it completes the story of Micheal's character: rise, decline and fall. GF is ultimately a tragedy--the Tragedy of Micheal Corleone--and GFIII "satisfies" the need for a proper conclusion.
"Inevitable" in the sense that the downfull of any tragic (anti-)hero is inevitable in literature. Hamlet, Richard III.
