Martin Scorsese’s Most Romantic Movie Isn’t ‘The Age of Innocence’ – Armessa Movie News

The absurd notion that Martin Scorsese only makes gangster films is as boring as it is wrong. While Scorsese will always be associated with crime thrillers like Mean Streets or Goodfellas, his filmography includes films from many different genres. Romance has always been an intrinsic part of Scorsese’s filmography; even action-packed films like Casino and The Departed have a romantic storyline that helps ground the narrative with emotional context. Scorsese doesn’t hyper sensationalize the romance within his films, as his work has always adhered to a more authentic depiction of what relationships are actually like. This is best explained by Scorsese’s groundbreaking 1974 documentary Italianamerican. Italianamerican isn’t about gangster, criminals, or serial killers; it’s the story of Scorsese’s parents. It’s arguably Scorsese’s most romantic and personal work to date.

‘Italianamerican’ Is the Story of Scorsese’s Parents

Italianamerican consists of a feature length interview with Scorsese’s parents, Catherine and Charles Scorsese. While Scorsese would establish himself in subsequent years as a “flashy” filmmaker with his inventive soundtrack choices and neo-realistic violence, Italianamerican isn’t a traditional narrative. It feels like a personal, intimate conversation between a child and his parents, where Scorsese gets to ask questions that have long been lingering in his mind. There’s a curiosity on Scorsese’s part that makes the film feel more personal; although Scorsese is often thought of as one of the “giants” of cinema, he appears to be poking around through his parent’s history with a genuine sense of discovery.

What’s remarkable about Catherine and Charles’ story is how common it was for couples of their generation. Scorsese’s parents had been raised in Sicily, and immigrated to the United States in the decade prior to Scorsese’s birth. Based on the details that they reveal, the experience was not always a pleasant one; adapting their culture to fit within the standards of a rapidly changing America was not easy, especially for a young couple. Catherine discusses how she was raised in Sicily; the implication is that she attempted to use many of the same values when raising Scorsese himself. This gives value to Scorsese fans who are curious about his upbringing. There’s no better way to understand an artist’s work than to understand where they came from.

‘Italianamerican’ Shows the Strength of the Relationship Between the Scorseses

Marriage is an endurance test for the Scorseses; they had to adapt their lifestyle, change their habits, and abandon their ancestral community in order to live a successful life stateside. The lack of sentimentality on their part somehow makes their marriage feel even more profound. Although Charles and Catherine will occasionally bicker, their disagreements all seem to be in jest. Their jovial sense-of-humor appears to be one that Scorsese himself picked up on; while there aren’t many Scorsese films that could strictly be considered “comedies,” the banter between Charles and Catherine isn’t dissimilar from Karen (Loraine Bracco) and Henry Hill (the late great Ray Liotta) in Goodfellas.

While this back-and-forth banter between Charles and Catherine certainly makes Italianamerican more entertaining, it also suggests a strength to their relationship. Although they may snip at each other, there’s never the impression that Cahrles and Catherine have ever had any strong disagreements with each other. It feels like the complete opposite of the relationships in many of Scorsese’s films. Between Henry and Karen in Goodfellas, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Naomi (Margot Robbie) in The Wolf of Wall Street, and most recently Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) and Mollie (Lily Gladstone) in Killers of the Flower Moon, Scorsese has often shown couples who are at each other’s throats. Perhaps seeing the strength of his parents’ marriage whilst filming Italianamerican made Scorsese more appreciative of how truly valuable his parents’ marriage was. That sort of lifelong commitment and loyalty is rare.

‘Italianamerican’ Explores Martin Scorsese’s Faith and Culture

Religion is a major component of Italianamerican. Based on the details that Charles and Catherine share about their own upbringing, it’s evident that strict adherence to the faith was important within the Scorsese household. Their experience is representative of many Sicilians that made the difficult journey overseas, and it’s evident that Charles and Catherine attempted to bring as much of their culture stateside as possible. Following religious principles isn’t just important to their own personal spirituality; it allows them to connect with their home country, which has begun to suffer issues of its own.

This reverence for religious principles is reflected in many of Scorsese’s best films. One of the most iconic scenes in Mean Streets consists of the young Charlie Cappa (Harvey Keitel) contemplating his faith. Even though the film was earmarked as Scorsese’s first “gangster” film, the 1973 crime thriller is as much about Catholic guilt as it is about the mafia world. Cappa is torn between his loyalties to the mob and the principles that he was taught within his Catholic upbringing. Perhaps Cappa serves as Scorsese’s personal avatar, and informs the decisions and crisis he would face as a filmmaker. Scorsese has made many gangster films that are strictly “genre films,” but he’s made many films that deal with religion and faith. This duality is what makes everything that falls in between more interesting.

Scorsese would later make more explicitly religious projects with Kundun, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Silence. It’s notable that Scorsese’s religious epics were all made after he had already been an established filmmaker, and had the budget and resources to make his epics the way that they were intended. In fact, The Last Temptation of Christ was a film that Scorsese only began production on after feeling that he had “matured” enough as a director. Scorsese had to come to grow as an artist before telling a story that had been told to him by his parents at such a young age.

Beyond religion itself, Italianamerican is a celebration of Italian culture. Similar homages to Scorsese’s Italian heritage are evident throughout his filmography. One of the reasons that Goodfellas felt like such a realistic depiction of the Italian mob are the many scenes of Henry and Karens’ everyday lives in between “hits.” There’s a reverence for tradition that’s ever present in their daily experiences, as Karen often notes how spending time with the other “mob wives” makes her feel like she is part of a family. Whose meatball recipe do Henry and Karen use in Goodfellas? Catherine Scorsese’s, of course!