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The Genius, Multi-Conflict Opening of The Godfather Part II
The Genius, Multi-Conflict Opening of The Godfather Part II
Warning: this E-Book contains minor spoilers of certain popular shows and
films.
Narrative Conflict
Before diving into the specifics of the sequence, it’s worth
taking a broader look at narrative conflict itself.
As with our three types above, a mixture tends to yield the best
results.
And, sure enough, it will come back and bite him in unwanted
areas.
When Connie gives her a gift she barely looks at it, angles
herself at the table to cut Merl out of the conversation and
berates Connie for not seeing her children.
‘You go see your children first, and then you worry about waiting on line to
see your brother, like everybody else.’
Aside from further establishing Michael’s power – even his
family have to wait in line to see him – Carmela’s reaction gives
us a sense of Connie as a kind of family liability, while her
iciness toward Merl implicitly tells us that either:
• she knows him but doesn’t like him
• she doesn’t know him, but knows she won’t like him,
implying he’s one in a string of similar guys
The latter proves to be true, but the point is that this brief
exchange reveals so much of the Corleones’ family conflict
beyond what is stated outright:
• Carmela’s annoyance that Connie didn’t come sooner hints
they don’t see each other often.
But the real beauty of the writing comes in the way this implicit
conflict pays off explicitly a few scenes later between Michael
and Connie:
• We learn that Connie travels and wastes family money,
clarifying Carmela’s anger at her being a week late.
• Her blunt, shameless request for money is concrete proof
that she expects preferential treatment.
• The fact she openly appears to consider leaving Merl at
Michael’s request reinforces that same fickle, manipulative
nature implied by the gift.
And it’s only with the benefit of hindsight that we see that flag
being waved gracefully in our face.