Gomorrah
2014
Original language: Italian
- crime
- drama
The story
Based on Robert Saviano's bestselling book, this gritty Italian crime drama paints a portrait of the brutal Neapolitan crime organisation the Camorra, as seen through the eyes of Ciro Di Marzo, the obedient and self- confident right-hand man of the clan's godfather, Pietro Savastano.
What it’s like
Washed-out concrete courtyards, sodium-yellow streetlight and the grey bloom of Naples apartment blocks, with a handheld camera that stays close to faces during tense exchanges and pulls back to wide, hazy views of the Vesuvio skyline between them. The palette runs to dusty ochres, cold blues and the flat glare of daylight over parked scooters, while the score is sparse: low synth drones, a few pulsing tones, and long stretches of street noise, car horns and muffled voices through thin walls. Its pace is deliberate and wearing, with scenes lingering after the talk stops, and its mood is bleak, tense and morally heavy, with a fatalistic sense that everyone is slowly trapped. Violence is frequent and sudden, including shootings, beatings and killings, shown with real weight rather than stylised spectacle, and there is drug use, sexual content and some cruelty throughout. It suits a late-night watch by someone ready for something unsettling. It is for viewers who want an unflinching, character-driven look at organised crime and the ordinary people sucked into it, not escapism or comfort.
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