Thursday, May 12, 2016

Godfather Hospital Scene with Enzo The Baker

This scene shows Michael Corleone's coolness in dealing with a dangerous situation.  The contrast between him and Enzo, where Enzo cannot light his cigarette because of his hands being too shaky, is particularly revealing.

This isn't meant to be praise for the Michael Corleone character, but only to show a facet of psychopathic behavior.  ( at least my inexpert understanding of it)  Psychopaths tend to have low fear activation, by which I mean that it takes a lot to scare them.  They tend to gravitate towards danger because they will get bored otherwise.

The movie doesn't explain this, but only shows this contrast in characters; and its influence upon Michael, as he decides to join his father in crime.  Michael realizes he isn't just an average guy like Enzo.  He is made of different stuff.

Michael is still a decent guy here, as he gives Enzo a chance to leave.  But Enzo decides to stay even though Michael warns him of trouble.  Quite different in character than what he became later on in the movie.

My opinion is that psychopathy exists outside of morality.  By that I mean that he could retain decency of character and still have psychopathic tendencies.



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