Maximillian Payne
One of the most highly anticipated films of this year was David Chase’s prequel of his globally renowned TV series, The Sopranos.
The last time the show was on our screens was over 14 years ago, and the cult following which the show has created throughout the years were desperate to see if this film could live up to the reputation of the series that is rated ‘Number 1’ in the ‘Top 100 series of all time’ by The Rolling Stone.
Set on a backdrop of the 1967 Newark Race riots, the film aims to explain how an innocent Tony Soprano grew into the psychotic murderer we have seen. The film delves deeper into the emotional rejection he faced from many family members growing up with a father being in prison and his mother clearly having undiagnosed mental issues.
After the tragic death of the beloved actor, James Gandolfini in 2013, his son Michael stepped in to the massive shoes that his father had left and played the younger version of his late father. The uncanny resemblance between the two creates a realism for the fans that we are almost watching James himself.
Famous faces from the show such as Paulie “Walnuts”and Silvio Dante made an appearance however a large amount of the backlash from the filmed was aimed at these characters, and I can see why. From their costumes to their acting; it resembled more of a comedy skit and completely broke the realism of the film.
Many high ranking ex mafia men, such as Michael Franzese, who now uses Youtube to promote positive content, condemned the film stating that it focused too much on a made up race war between the Italians and the Black gangs of the 60’s. Michael also stated that “Of course there were racist guys in the mob but for the most part, we got on well with them.
Credits
Photos – Bailey Bujnosek, The Guardian
Max Payne 