Film Analysis Of Martin Scorsese's Film Goodfellas

Gabriela Raya | Sociology 135 | December 18, 2015

“For as long as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster. To me that was better than being president of the United States. To be a gangster was to own the world” (Scorsese 1990). The American Film Institute for its representation of mob families has named Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film GoodFellas. GoodFellas is without a doubt the best American mafia film for several reasons. Not only is it a biographical crime film with the real events involving mob families, but it possesses originality with the narration of most of the film, it portrays a great picture of the lower and higher end of the mob families and organizations, but it also showcases a copious amount of humor that blends well with

Henry got a part time job at a cabstand right in front of his home, whose owners were a part of the mafia, to help his family come out of poverty. After expressing his dreams and presenting his role models, Henry sticks with the same group of men and gradually makes his way up the ladder of the mob family. Henry’s change of social status from his early teen years to his early adult years is crucial to the resemblance the audience feels. It is easy to watch the film and agree that the perks of being a gangster were far better than living in poverty in a small apartment that housed 7 people. The power to not be restricted and doing whatever we want is something that everyone is familiar with and that is exactly what these people had. The gradual change of Henry’s social status is also important because it shows how someone at the bottom of the of the mob can rise to the top and as his teenage life is shown, Henry is given an acknowledgment of a hard worker for being able to amount that

The plot of the film is actually based on a single mafia family and certain people’s lives. The real Henry Hill actually said that the film was about 90% accurate and it makes the audience appreciate the film even more. To be able to paint reenact a real picture and only have to make minor changes to it is great, especially when those minor changes make the picture golden. The portrayal of the mafia life, complete to the traces back to Italy, such as the made men, are an interesting thing to watch when there is a humorous cast. For example, towards the end of the film, Henry has a lot of tasks to complete by the end of the day – drop off guns at Jimmy’s, pick up his brother, make dinner, and make a really important drug drop off. The choppy scenes, the edgy music, and the close up shots that Scorsese showcases makes the audience also feel the nervousness and paranoia that Henry feels towards the end. It was evident that leading a life in the mafia was risky business and it even had me sweating bullets for