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Gomorrah Series 2 Review: Machiavellian Mafia Machinations

By Olly MacNamee

Hitting the ground running, the second series of Italian TV's Gomorrah (out in the UK on Blu-ray and DVD July 25th) throws the viewer straight into the action and picks up immediately where the first series left off. A potent mix of Machiavellian Mafia machinations and threats of revenge aplenty, this 12 episode season still finds time to introduce the viewer to new Cammorista and therefore new clear and present dangers.

The first series introduced us to the main players; the Godfather of the Naples' organised crime cartel and his Camorra clan, Don Pietro Savanstano (Fortunato Cerlino), his too-soft son, Gennaro (Salvatore Esposito), and the up and coming young Turk, Ciro di Marzio (Marco D'Amore). And, it's the latter who ended that series sitting pretty as the head honcho thanks to some well thought out backstabbing (both literal and metaphorical).

With Savanstano now broken free of prison and in hiding, the major story-arc – a three-way stand off that will dominate this satisfyingly tense and often underplayed second series – is quickly established with Ciro, Gennaro and Savanstano each wanting absolute domination over organized crime within Naples. Naples, Italy's third largest city and only a stone's throw away from Rome, which plays a large part in this sophomore series. For the most part, we view Naples through the lens of its most poverty-stricken are, Scampia, with its pyramid-like, grey, crumbling tower blocks, made infamous in both Roberto Savanio's original novel, Gommorah.

To claim that this series is based on Savanio's critically acclaimed book is something of a bold statement. Yes, it takes as its focus the Camorra, one of three regional Mafia organizations that collectively dictate crime and politics in Italy, and yes it deals with infighting, drug deals and Mafia sanctioned hits, but it doesn't focus on the many, many industries legal and illegal that Savanio's focuses on from chapter to chapter. What the novel has provided this series with is a believable framework to hang its Shakespearian story on. But, the story of infighting and political corruption is one as old as the Mafia itself, with its roots dating somewhere in the rural communities and prison systems of 19th century Italy. This ain't the Mafia of The Godfather, that's for sure.

But this is not that film, with large parts made up the look and feel of the American Mafia only for the real life gangster to emulate the style and mannerisms of Pacino and pals. No, this is a more realized and violently real Mafioso, dressed in expensive jeans, t-shirts and dripping in gaudy jewelry, riding around on superbikes and scooters. A Camorra who deck out their apartments in kitsch Baroque-infused rooms too ugly to look at, but absolutely spot on in design. These are, after all, rough and ready street urchins made good on a diet of drug deals and death, with all the bad tastes of the nouveau riche. They seem to live amongst their customers, or rather their victims, but in a strange hidden luxury undetectable from the outside, which is the point of course. It's all the time asking the question; who would want a life like this, given the sacrifices to be made? In many ways, so many of these characters are prisoners themselves, because of the life they lead; prisoners on a death row of their own making.

Savanstano is moved from safe house to safe house, with his lavish belongings alongside, all the time trying to claw back his powerbase regardless of who he crosses along the way. As such, he becomes somewhat of an isolated King Lear like character in his own kingdom, as he slowly begins to realize his child, Gennaro, has betrayed him for his own gain, leaving him more and more impotent, seemingly. Enter a tough, street-smart young woman, Patrizia (Christiana Dell'Anna), playing the Fool to Savanstano's King Lear; a man lost in the wilderness, imprisoned as effectively as any jail he served in, his wings clipped. Only she seems able to tell him the truths no-one else would dare tell. One might even begin to feel sorry for the guy, but, thanks to the great, reserved acting of Fortunato Cerlino and the sheer stubborn ego of the man, one will find it hard to be sympathetic with him or any of these lowlifes.

The lifestyle on offer here is not one many would wish for themselves; the paranoia is rife throughout each episode and, like The Walking Dead, no one is safe. Often new characters are introduceded, the spotlight shone on them (with some episodes almost acting as stand alone chapters written specifically to develop a character) before they are dispatched hastily and without emotion. That is the life you buy into, however, where life is cheap and plentiful and only Mammon is God Supreme.

Throughout the first series Genny himself had already been transformed after a trip to Latin America and a violent rites-of-passage that exorcised any hint of the mummy's boy he was originally. In his place stands a smouldering, but ruthless Camorrista already making his own way in life in Rome.

A child on the way, and new 'business partners' that has seen him rise within this shady urban underworld, Genny wants nothing to do with his old alliances. If anything, they are an embarrassment. As both Savanstano's Goneril and Regan, Genny comes back into the fold, but on his own terms. For him, his pregnant wife, Azzurra (Ivana Lotito) is his everything. No ties are as strong as the ones he feels for her and she, in return, is no shrinking violet either. His plans are as selfish as anyone else's and it is this doubt; who next, and in what fashion, that keeps the viewer guessing and wanting to come back for more. Each episode seems like an eternity, it's so tightly scripted, and acted with Esposito's Genny being a remarkable study in character development over the two series.

Surprisingly, not as bloody as you would imagine, given the subject matter, but rather a focus on the plots and plans in-between crimes and over time, subtly measured by the growing size of Azzurra's baby bump. The deals that are made, and then immediately broken, will have your head spinning as to whom to trust; none, of course, as we are reminded by both the characters and their actions.

In amongst all of this, is the Macbeth like rise of Ciro, happy enough to get his hands bloody, regardless of who gets in his way. You'll know what I mean if you get the series, but needless to say, the actions of the individual would-be Kingpins of Crime always have a tendency to bite them back on the arse. This is not a Camorra that would appeal to many. After all, what's the point of having money to burn if you have to live in amongst the junkies, thieves and hitmen who litter the series' background and foreground?

This is a tour-de-force for anyone intrigued with Italian organised crime and/or outstanding drama. The assorted creators of the series, the writers, directors, actors, etc. have concocted a mise en scene that is brutal, bloodied and in no way glamourised with everyone suffering by the close of the curtain in episode 12. This is capitalism at it's rawest, albeit legal corporations often carry out business practices that could be considered criminal in themselves. Organised crime seeps into all aspects of Italian life, blurring the lines of distinctions between good and bad leaving a gruesomely grey area into which is poured the sins of society and everyone turns the other way. And people like Genny, Ciro and Savanstano, will always be there to exploit that inseparable connection.

A great sophomore season,

Olly MacNamee teaches English and Media, for his sins, in a school somewhere in Birmingham. Some days, even he doesn't know where it is. Follow him on twitter @ollymacnamee or read about his exploits at olly.macnamee@blogspot.co.uk. Or don't. You can also read his articles fairly frequently at www.bleedingcool.com too.

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