This unexpectedly absorbing gangster movie is based on a nonfiction book of the same name by André Cédilot and André Noël that delved into Montreal’s organised crime world. Set in the 1990s but with flashbacks to the 80s, the film revolves around Francesco “Frank” Paterno (a silky Sergio Castellitto), an affable local godfather whose great ambition is to build a bridge back in the old country between Sicily and the Italian mainland, and thoroughly skim off all the money such a massive project will produce. To bankroll it, he has all sorts of funds squirrelled away in offshore accounts, but slippery accountants are skimming off the top, and there’s major trouble brewing between his son and chosen successor, Giaco (Donny Falsetti), and upcoming capo Vince Gamache (Marc-André Grondin). The son of a tailor (Gilbert Sicotte) who has served the Paterno family for years, Vince tries to raise his stature in the organisation by importing drugs from Venezuela via a most horrific method. Meanwhile, Giaco’s brother Pat (Michael Ricci) gets engaged to Vince’s savvy sister Sofie (Mylène Mackay), a steel-nerved character in her own right underneath all that blow-dried hair and huge gold hoop earrings.
Once the novelty of seeing all this play out in a Canadian setting wears off, Mafia Inc reveals itself to be a pretty sturdy gangster movie, complete with all the tropes we want and expect from the genre: murders in meatpacking warehouses; bloody shootouts that destroy cars and shops; a wedding where plots are made while everyone else is dancing. And most essential of all, the furnishings are all lavishly tasteless: it’s full of ornate and overstuffed sofas where grown men curl up to weep over their slain children. The constant shifting between Italian, English and Québécois-accented French adds an extra texture, and the performances are as sharp as the suits.
Mafia Inc is available on digital platforms from 16 October.
