Originally Posted By: Turnbull
 Originally Posted By: 90caliber

1) I can see why Rocco would want to get as close to Mike as Neri, but if he thought the Roth assassination in the airport was the way to do it, he must have had closeness in the afterlife in mind. Surely Rocco must have known that there was no way that he would ever escape from the airport.

Michael, the old manipulator, gave Rocco no choice. Put yourself in his shoes:

--In the boathouse, Neri reclines in the chair and leads the discussion on Roth. Rocco stands guard, like the security guard he's become (when he's not a waiter, feeding Johnny Ola's men).
--After Michael brutally humiliated Tom about his job offer and mistress (watch Neri smirk; he was obviously the source of that info), he then says he wants Roth's plane met.
--Tom, true to form, falls right back into character: "Impossible...like assassinating the President." Sets stage for another humiliation: "Y'know, Tom, you surprise me...if there's one thing that's certain...it's that you can kill anyone."
--And then Michael turns and says, "Rocco?" He doesn't say, "Al?" He says, "Rocco?"

Now, what's Rocco going to say? "Uh, Mike, uh, I agree with Tom: impossible"?? After Tom was humiliated giving the "impossible" answer? Not a chance! Michael gave him no options.


All true, except for the inference which you (and Olivant) seem to make from Rocco's reply: you believe that he is volunteering for the actual hit when he says "Difficult, not impossible." This is a mistake, if that's what you mean. The question was whether Roth could be killed, not who was going to kill him. As far as Rocco was concerned, Neri or someone else could get the actual assignment for the hit. And note that that casual expression on Rocco's face would have vanished very quickly if Mike had then said, "Good. You're going to dress up like a reporter, and when Roth is stopped by the press and half the FBI, you're going to pretend to take notes, and then shoot him. Alright?" Gulp!

These are the key questions: Was it known in advance that whoever was to kill Roth was without any doubt going to be shot or thrown in jail? If yes, what kind of circumstances/predicament/frame of mind must someone be in in order to be recruited for such a job?

By the way, is there no significance to be attached to the business about Rocco handing Mike the orange from Miami, and the fact that he's wearing an orange jacket during the opening/assassination sequence? When Ola wears an orange suit, when Carlo wears an orange shirt and pants, when Tessio grabs an orange and flips it up in the air, when Vito is surrounded by oranges when he's shot, everyone notes the obvious symbolic significance of oranges. What about the example I raise here?