a

The cinematography and direction, needless to say, are incredible. There are moments where the camera direction could improve, but it isn't too distracting. The first scene, the wedding scene, practically is a showcase of how well done the actors' directions are. There are a lot of subtleties, the actors and actresses look so natural, they don't look tense at all, which helps make the scene feels more real. The color scheme also helps to give an ol' time vibe. An easy 9.6. Halfway through the movie, though, I started asking myself, "Isn't the movie essentially over?" The major conflicts are resolved, so what will I be spending another 80+ minutes for? And in a sense, I'd probably be better off stopping there. There are a lot of good moments, one of my favorite being when Vito finds out about his son's death. His grief is ironic, a jab to what he told John about crying. The scene on marital abuse portrays the misogynistic reality, still prevalent today. Connie's anger isn't a rational action, but an understandable byproduct of continual abuse (and a narcissistic relationship). But all these come with a bitter cost: less screentime on several supposedly important characters. Why do I even want to root for Apollonia if she's portrayed as a dumbhead with no relatable qualities? A lot of characters started becoming harder to root for. Worse off? The subtleties in the first half (e.g. children playing in the street) lack so much variety they are practically reusable scenes. I know they're practically just supporting characters, but can we at least be more creative than putting the same laugh track over and over for doing random kid things? By the end of the movie I just have this bubbling rage for Kay and Mike's relationship. And I think a 9 would have been overly generous for its second half, so I'd gladly give it an 8.9/10 if possible.