Imagine yourself in an important business meeting with a sleazy shark, and your older, kinda lame, brother is putting you on the spot because of his lack of understanding, and just pure lameness.That’s what is happening to Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in his meeting with Moe Greene (Alex Rocco). And to Michael’s frustration, his older brother, Fredo (John Cazale), seems to have misplaced his spine somewhere and is acting like Moe’s PR/lapdog.If you know Michael, you can imagine how strongly he must feel about Fredo’s behavior. This might be one of the moments in The Godfather (1972) that is instrumental in instigating Michael’s transformation from an idealistic war hero to a cold, calculating crime boss. Perhaps, this is the informal end to the warm family dinners and shared secrets.The backdrop of this scene is Michael attempting to forcibly buy out Moe’s stakes in the family’s Las Vegas casino business. But under the surface, this is Michael setting a new set of standards and rules for loyalty that are not negotiable.The Scene That Changes the Power EquationA little background. The Corleones provided the initial funding and essentially own the financial stakes in the Las Vegas casinos, but Moe Greene technically runs them. He is influential in that sense. The Corleones, however, see him as a frontman who skimmed profits. Michael also cannot tolerate the fact that Moe once slapped Fredo—a Corleone—in public. For him, disrespect to one Corleone is disrespect to all Corleones. And that’s unforgivable. In this scene, Michael meets...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Today