I don’t quite know what to make of Mafia Mamma. This is the new film from Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) and features both Australia’s own Toni Collette (who also serves as a producer on the project) and Monica Bellucci. It’s from an original short story by prolific French writer Amanda Sthers, and was adapted by J. Michael Feldman and Debbie Jhoon. They collaborated on the well-received TV series A.P. Bio. But for all its credentials, there’s something “off” about it.
Much like its main character, the film feels adrift. It touches on familiar tropes of the Mafia movie but tries to shoehorn wacky comedy and romance into the mix. Or maybe its a rom-com trying to shoehorn crime into the mix – who knows? Either way, the elements don’t gel. Imagine trying to mash-up Under the Tuscan Sun with Sicario. It’s too screwball to be a serious crime film, but too violent to be a pleasant romance; so it ends up being neither.
Collette plays Kristin Balbano, an American mom who’s just sent her son Domenick (Tommy Rodger) off to college. That leaves her at home with layabout husband Paul (Tim Daish). But on the same day that Kristin discovers Paul has been cheating on her, she receives a message that her grandfather has died in Italy and she needs to go there to “sort out his affairs”. Although wary at first, Kristin is convinced by her best friend Jenny (Sophia Nomvete) to take the chance for an Italian sojourn to get over Paul. On arrival in Rome, Kristin discovers she has acquired two minders in the form of Aldo (Francesco Mastroianni) and Dante (Alfonso Perugini). They escort her to the Balbano compound in the hills outside the city, where she meets Bianca (Bellucci), her grandfather’s loyal assistant.
Rushed arrangements for the funeral mean Kristin is swept up in the moment. But things take a nasty turn when gunmen fire on the funeral procession. In the aftermath, Bianca explains that Kirstin’s grandfather was in fact Don Giuseppe Balbano, a feared Mafia boss. He was killed in a shoot-out with the rival Romano family, who were also responsible for the attack at the funeral. Don Giuseppe’s last wish was for his direct blood descendant, Kirstin, to take over the “family business” – much to the chagrin of hot-headed gang capo Fabrizio (Eduardo Scarpetta). But Kristin isn’t all that interested in being a Mob boss – she’s far more taken with hunky local Lorenzo (Giulio Corso).
Mafia Mamma felt to me like a “salad” movie. A little crime, a little romance, a little self-improvement, a little violence, a little Italian travelogue – toss them all together and see what comes out. For me though, it was even less than the sum of its parts. I found the tone all over the place, the dialogue often stilted and the acting inconsistent. I will say, though, the twist is pretty good. Even though that twist wasn’t exactly original, Hardwicke handled it so deftly it was still a surprise. Another plus is Patrick Murguia’s warm cinematography that makes the most of the locations in Lazio.
In the end, it all comes back to the script. Without a clear narrative driver, the limps along from one scene to another. The characters are generally either one-dimensional; or just plain horrible. I never really bought the central transformation of Kristin from suburban homemaker to Mafia heavyweight and cold-blooded killer. Feldman and Jhoon try to equate Kristin’s rise within the crime family with moving on after a break-up. That’s a bold take, but it falls kind of flat. Murder and drug trafficking don’t usually sit well with an “eat, pray, love” philosophy. Incidentally, the film name-checks Eat, Pray, Love (the book) and The Godfather (the movie); so you can’t say it doesn’t lay out where it’s going.
The cast grapple gamely with the jumbled script with varying degrees of success. Toni Collette is at least interesting as the main character, even if she overdoes the wide-eyed bewilderment at the start of the film. Francesco Mastroianni and Alfonso Perugini get some choice comic moments as Kristin’s inept bodyguards. Eduardo Scarpetta over-acts completely as the nasty Fabrizio; while Giulio Corso gets little to do except look good as the Kristin’s love interest. But spare a thought for Monica Bellucci who’s lumbered with a thankless – and rather tasteless – part as the family consigliere.
I really struggled with Mafia Mamma. I’m not sure this showed off anyone’s true talents. It seemed very confused to me, and some of the directorial choices were bewildering. Still, if you like your relationship break-ups with a side of blood-soaked homicide, then this is probably more up your alley.
David Edwards
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David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television