Connie Corleone barges into the office and yells at her brother, Michael Corleone, calling him a “lousy bastard” for killing her husband. The new Godfather, sitting behind what was once his father’s desk, stares at her with a cold expression, a cigar hanging from his lips. Kay, Michael’s wife, comes to comfort her sister-in-law, who amidst tears, accuses her brother of killing for his own gains. Connie tries to attack Michael, but she is restrained by one of his men; Michael forcefully hugs his sister as she tries to hit him. He has his whining sister ushered out of the room by his man. He stares at her leaving, annoyed and exhausted. He turns to see Kay, shocked silent at the scene. “She’s hysterical,” remarks Michael as he lights a new cigarette.  “Michael is it true?” Kay asks, desperation in her eyes. Michael tells his wife not to ask about his business. She asks again and again, until Michael angrily slams the table and yells— “no!” He quickly cools down, and tells her that just this once, he’ll allow her to ask about his affairs. Kay, clearly on edge, whispers the question again; Michael calmly says no before the couple embrace affectionately. Kay leaves the room to go get both of them a drink. As she is just outside the room’s doorway preparing the drinks, Michael is visited my some of his father’s men—now his men. Clemenza, one of the most loyal of these men (known as capo), hugs Michael and kisses his hand before respectfully saying, “Don Corleone”. Kay stares at the men as the somber titular theme plays in the background, the door to Michael’s office slowly closing.

   This is the ending to Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, a film that is still considered to this day one of the best ever made. Why has it achieved such critical acclaim? Why has its popularity lasted for over 46 years?

   There are many reasons that can be found through a simple search online, but I want to analyze the memorable ending, which I believe features an Ironic Controlling Idea. As described by well-known creative writing professor Robert McKee in his piece Structure and Meaning (written for screenwriters to understand how to make successful and meaningful film storylines), a controlling idea is a “single sentence describing how and why life undergoes change from one condition of existence at the beginning to another at the end”(115).  It’s the core meaning of the story, composed of the Value (the positive or negative charge of the story by the last act’s climax) and the Cause (the chief reason why the value has changed into its final state). The Controlling Idea can either be the positive Idea or the negative Counter-Idea, which fight to stay on top of each scene based on its positive or negative value. Whichever one wins out is the story’s Controlling Idea. This can result in three different types of Endings. The Idealistic Controlling Ideas result in positive, “up-ending”, stories, where life is as the audience wishes it to be (usually the Hero gets what he/she wants). Of course, there is the other side, in which the stories have Pessimistic Controlling Ideas resulting in “down-ending” stories. This means that the Counter-Idea won, and the hero lost- the hard truth people try to avoid. The Idealistic and Pessimistic Controlling Ideas are two sides of the same coin—but there is a third option, which is what I think The Godfather belongs to—Ironic Controlling Ideas. These are the “up/down endings”, which as McKee describes, express “our sense of the complex, dual nature of existence, a simultaneously charged positive and negative vision; life at its most complete and realistic” (125). So, the hero might lose what he/she wants, but wins something else instead. Or the hero wins what he/she wants but loses something else that’s important to them as a result.

   The story of The Godfather spans a decade and follows the Corleone mafia family, headed by Vito Corleone, as it deals with rising tensions with other families, as well as Michael Corleone’s attempt to stay out of all the crime. This is the idea of the story- Michael wants to stay out of the family business and be legitimate, with which he can help to support his family. As of the beginning of this film, Michael has had this idea- as exemplified by him being the only member of the family to have volunteered and fought in World War II. No matter how much the members of the Corleone family try, Michael refuses to commit crimes. This is apparent in the atmosphere, the mise en scene of the opening scenes of the film, set during the wedding of Connie and her (later revealed to be abusive and backstabbing) love, Carlo Rizzi. It’s a bright sunny day and the whole extended Corleone family and friends are all dressed up and having a good time. Michael’s mother is in front of a crowd joyfully singing an italian song filled with sexual innuendos. Johnny Fontaine, an Elvis look alike who owes all his success to his actual godfather Vito Corleone, croons a love song with a full orchestra backing him up in front of Connie and all her bridesmaids, who shriek in excitement. The Godfather’s men, usually used to enforce orders or kill opponents, can be seen dancing with the young children of the family and enjoying the food and wine being served. The way the scenes are shot, the event feels like a warm familial occasion  captured on tape. Shy and reserved Michael, the only person decked out in a green army uniform, sits away from the commotion with his new American girlfriend Kay, playfully introducing her to his family’s customs, while playing around the fact that they are also criminals. Michael stands out from him family (just as he likes it) through his demeanor and clothing, but he is clearly having a good time with Kay. That all changes when his father Vito is shot by some hired guns while simply trying to buy some oranges in a small populated New York neighborhood, which sends him fighting for his life in a nearby hospital, unable to protect his family. Michael, the only family member known to be uninvolved with the family business, is chosen by Vito’s men to kill Sollozo, a drug baron thought to have ordered the hit, and his bodyguard, a corrupt NYPD captain (Michael agrees to do so only at the insistence of his older brothers and for his love of his father). As planned, he meets with Sollozo and the captain at a little Italian restaurant, and hold a cordial conversation (the drug baron clearly respects Michael for not being like family, trying to convince him to join his own cause). Michael, clearly uneasy, excuses himself, and goes to the bathroom, where he finds a gun planted there by his family’s men (a loud train can be heard passing in the background, signifying the tension he is in, and all the indecisive thoughts rushing through his mind). Michael pockets the gun and returns to the table, where Sollozo begins to speak to him in Italian (which is not translated to the audience to show that Michael is not listening). Another train passes by, and at the climax, Michael makes his decision, and shoots both of the men violently.  By choosing to kill these men, the counter-idea appears- taking up the family business, Michael is thrust into the world of crime (the lighting of the rest of the film, except for the occasional bright sunny day– which complements the struggle- is much darker and cold, much more serious than the atmosphere at Connie’s wedding). Another major turning point that brings Michael to this side is when he is staying in Corleone, a small Italian rural town from which his family is named, after having to flee the US following the killings. While there, he meets this stunning young Italian girl named Apollonia who he falls in love with and courts until they marry each other in a small wedding reception (through the way Michael acts with her, all warm and kind, it is apparent that she is his true love). Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and when Michael receives the “ok” to return to the US, Appolonia is violently killed in a car bomb meant for him (Michael is visibly distraught and terrified as he tries to run and warn her too late). By the time he returns to the US, he is already more cold and closed in (though he still decides to rekindle his relationship with Kay, who he doesn’t truly love anymore, but still shows affection to). He is now dressed in the same suits as his family’s men, and after his eldest brother Sonny is murdered in a hail of bullets (trying to get revenge on Carlo for abusing Connie) and second oldest brother Fredo is deemed as cowardly and incompetent (a decision that affects his storyline in the second film), he is made the head of the family. Throughout the rest of the film, the increasing struggle between the two ideas becomes apparent through the actions Michael takes.

   By the end of the film, as shown in the first paragraph, it seems that the controlling idea is the Counter-Idea. But that winning idea is not pessimistic, which is where the Irony comes in. Michael failed to stay legitimate, instead becoming the head of the crime family—the opposite of what he wanted. The first thing he does, highlighting this, is ordering the murders of each of the heads of the other four crime families, thereby solidifying his family as the top (the violent murders are juxtaposed with scenes of Michael assuming the role of Godfather to Connie’s young baby at his Catholic baptism, with his coldly swearing to the priest and God to uphold the morals of the church and renounce Satan and his violent tendencies). Even Vito Corleone, relaxing in his little backyard garden with Michael’s young son, moments before his death from a heart attack, tells Michael that he wished and hoped that his favorite son would not be dragged into the world of crime (wanting Michael to be the first legitimate US senator in the Corleone family). However, by carrying out all the crime and killings, he has successfully protected and helped the Corleone family, which was a goal of his (he killed the head of the crime family who had actually ordered the hit on Vito Corleone and Michael, he killed his father’s man who had secretly betrayed his family, and he ordered the killing of Carlo for having abused Connie and leading Sonny to his death– a fact that Connie doesn’t believe as seen in the first paragraph). It’s a complex and very real outcome- resort to a life of crime to support the family. And at the end of the movie, his father’s men respect him for what he has done and will listen to whatever he says (with one of Vito’s most trusted advisors, Clemenza, accepting him as the new “Don”). He has lost his youthful optimism to become legitimate (shared by his American wife Kay and his earlier love of Apollonia) and has become the serious and criminal man wanted by his family (much to the disdain of Connie and Kay). It’s an outcome that resonates with audiences, and a major reason why the film has remained popular and loved for so long. As McKee states, “Reality is relentlessly ironic, and this is why stories that end in irony tend to last the longest through time, travel the widest in the world, and draw the greatest love and respect from audiences”(128).

Works Cited

“Structure and Meaning.” Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, by Robert McKee, Methuen, 2014, pp. 115–128.