October 10, 2009
Goodfellas is the Perfect Breakup Movie
If you've suffered a breakup, it can be hard to find acceptable entertainment. Rom-coms are out, because you just want to throw things at the inevitably happy couple, and happy families are annoying for similar reasons. Some people go for tearjerkers in the belief that crying will bring catharsis. In my experience you've probably cried quite enough already, and don't need to do any more.
Cythnia Heimel once suggested that classic murder mysteries, with their combination of drawing room decorum and bloodcurdling violence, were best for this purpose. I've never been able to follow that advice because I'm not a huge fan of the mystery genre.
Henry and Karen Hill
Enter Goodfellas. I was forced to see the movie in the theater when it came out, and I fully intended to hate it. But I couldn't. It was just too good.
I retain my affection for Goodfellas to this day. It's particularly good entertainment for the broken-hearted because there's no love in it whatsoever. The relationship between Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) and Karen (a magnificent Lorraine Bracco) is about sexual attraction first, then mafia-enforced marriage. There are no annoying couples, and even the mobsters don't have the sentimental family relationships of The Godfather. The only romance in this movie is with a violent, glamorous lifestyle that will probably get you killed.
The violence and swearing are enough to distract anyone from their problems, but (unlike Quentin Tarantino), Martin Scorsese doesn't delight in gruesomeness. This is an important point, because while you may fantasize about roughing up the cad who broke your heart a little bit, you probably don't actually want to torture or kill him.
Add to that great costumes, interiors, and music to reflect the changing decades, and you've got some good stuff. The movie is entertaining as hell, and you find yourself engaged with these characters whether you like it or not. Suddenly, you're not thinking about your own lousy life, you're worried about whether Henry Hill's going to get caught with his drugs/mistress/whatever.
I also find some comfort in Martin Scorsese's role as underdog director. In 1990 Kevin Costner and his awful Dances with Wolves robbed Scorsese of a much-deserved Best Director Oscar. In fact, Scorsese had to wait 30 years to get that Oscar. Although the critically-lauded Taxi Driver was his first big commercial release in 1977, he only won the Best Director category in 2007 for The Departed.
The message is clear: life ain't fair, and you shouldn't expect it be. But, when the cosmos seems most turned against you, the least you can do is distract yourself with some decent entertainment. And I bet Scorsese would agree.
