There’s nothing to quash a beef between two real men quite like
shooting a waiter who complains about a paltry tip.
Such is the creepy beauty of The Sopranos, which, after
15 long months away, kicked off its fifth season Sunday night.
Somehow the show is able to take this terrible deed committed
jointly by Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) and Paulie
Walnuts (Tony Sirico) and morph it into an almost touching moment.
After separately speeding away from the murder scene, the two men,
feuding viciously the entire episode, call one another to laugh
about the close call and grudgingly say how much they mean to one
another.
As if to answer the complaints that season four went a bit too
light on the action and suspense in favor of heavy emotional drama,
the new season opens up with the announcement that all the old
gangsters prosecuted during the big mob busts of the '80s have
served their time and are headed back out onto the streets. With
all the power struggles already brewing in New Jersey, these
jail-hardened wiseguys are a match to the powder keg. In short
order things are going to go boom.
TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, Tony Soprano is in an exceedingly foul mood.
(Of course, once you own mother plans a hit on you, as Tony’s did
in season one, it’s likely you’ll never really be much of
an optimist again.) During the first four seasons, Tony sought
psychiatric help for his anger management issues. But just at the
time when the shrink’s couch might be most comforting — his
marriage has disintegrated, he’s losing respect, his kids are out
of control — Tony has gone and sworn it off.
Confusing the doctor/patient relationship for love, Tony
professes his love to his former shrink, the incomparable Dr.
Melfi, and she devastatingly rebuffs him. He reacts by berating her
with words that are not even remotely appropriate for this
publication. The next scene shows Tony sitting with an AK-47 in
hand in his former backyard, waiting for a bear that’s been
scavenging through the trash at his wife’s house. (Not a good omen,
by the way: a sure sign the Russian mob will have its revenge on
Tony — and Christopher and Paulie Walnuts — before this season’s
through.)
The Sopranos is driven by these manic mood swings, the
brooding storms that gather in Tony’s conflicted head and break
with little warning. James Gandolfini is paid piles of cash for
every second he spends on screen, and he earns every penny. He can
be a frighteningly realistic menace, and also credibly display
believable, reluctant guilt about the hurt he’s caused his loved
ones.
Surrounded by one of the greatest ensemble casts to ever grace
the small screen, nearly every conflicted moment is gold. Last
season was all about trying to get back on the nice track. This
season, angry Tony will clearly prevail. Expect heads to roll.
THE RED HOT HEART of the mobster genre has always been a tug of war
between loyalty and violence. The audience is invited early on to
become a part of the family or gang, and then we are quickly
willing to accept almost anything they do.
Has anyone ever watched The Godfather hoping Michael
Corleone will walk away from the family after his father is shot
buying oranges? Hell no. We want to see him take the meeting with
the dirty cop and the mob boss, accept his role as the unexpected
assassin, the wolf in sheep’s clothing, and avenge the violence
done to his father.
Sure, he may be throwing away a chance at a normal life. Sure,
many, many people will suffer for his conversion to a life of
crime. Sure, the father he seeks to avenge may be dirtier than the
men he’s about to take out. But we want to see him pull the
trigger, because it’s the stand-up thing to do.
Likewise, in Casino, Miller’s Crossing,
Donnie Brasco, and countless other gangster flicks, we
take a side early on and stick with it. The Sopranos shows
quite a bit of chutzpah on the part of its creators. How
loyal would an audience be to this brute of a man, as weak
emotionally as he is strong physically?
Mob movies follow a two or three hour arc. The
Godfather trilogy comes in at around nine hours. We’ve
never spent as much time with a Mafioso as we have with Tony
Soprano. But 50 episodes later, despite the deplorable way this
gang carries itself, we’re still tuning in in droves. And we’re
still on Tony’s side. At least I am.
