Mafia Inc. is a 2019 Canadian gangster film directed by Daniel "Podz" Grou from a screenplay by Sylvain Guy, starring Sergio Castellitto and Marc-André Grondin. Set in 1994, the film follows Vincent Gamache (Grondin), a soldato in the Montreal crime family of Frank Paternò (Castellitto). It is inspired by the 2011 non-fiction book by André Cédilot and André Noël, about Montreal's Rizzuto family.
The film premiered in October 2019 at the São Paulo International Film Festival, before having its Canadian premiere in February 2020. It received positive reviews from critics. Grondin was nominated for Best Actor at the 8th Canadian Screen Awards.
Plot summary The Gamache, an Italian Canadian family of tailors, have been dressing the Paternò Mafia family for three generations. As a teenager, Vincent “Vince” Gamache chooses instead to work with the Paternò family, and Frank, the godfather, puts him to work with his eldest son, Giaco. Vince, reckless and rash, seeks to earn his stripes by impressing the godfather. Working independently, Vince successfully plans and executes a big operation for the family and is promoted.
Fuming with jealousy, Giaco discovers that Vince committed a monstrous act behind his back. This happens while Frank has the opportunity to get out of the family business by investing $180 million in the construction of a toll bridge linking Sicily to Italy. The Paterno family disown him and war begins.
Cast
Production Director Daniel Grou was attracted to the project due to his own upbringing in Montreal. "Montreal is bigger than anything — bigger than New York. There’s something about the old-school ways Sicilian families run their business that was really appealing to me, especially when it clashes with Québécois culture..... When I was a kid, a prison bus was shot up in my neighbourhood. I remember when the jeep exploded in Hochelaga and that little boy died. There was a social anxiety around that."
In February 2018 the Quebecor Fund granted $380,000 to support the production of Mafia Inc. and Antigone by Sophie Deraspe (to be divided between the two films). In May 2018 Telefilm Canada announced it would spend approximately $13 million to fund 10 Quebec films, including Mafia Inc. Principal photography took place in Montreal and then Cuba before completing late in 2018.
Reception Critical response
Review aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes reports that of reviews of the film were positive, with an average rating of . According to Metacritic, which sampled six critics and calculated a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, the film received "generally favorable reviews".
Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Canadian Screen Awards 28 May 2020 Best Actor Marc-André Grondin Directors Guild of Canada 27 October 2020 Best Production Design – Feature Film David Pelletier Prix collégial du cinéma québécois 2021 Best Film Mafia Inc. "Prix collégial du cinéma québécois: «Je m’appelle humain» de Kim O’Bomsawin triomphe". Le Journal de Québec, March 27, 2021. Prix Iris 10 June 2020 Best Film Antonello Cozzolino, Valérie D’Auteuil, André Rouleau Best Actor Marc-André Grondin Best Supporting Actor Sergio Castellitto Best Art Direction David Pelletier Best Sound Luc Boudrias, Sylvain Brassard, Jean Camden Best Costume Design Valérie Lévesque Best Makeup Marlène Rouleau, Bruno Gatien Best Hairstyling Stéphanie Deflandre Best Casting Nathalie Boutrie, Francis Cantin, Bruno Rosato Public Prize
References
External links
Mafia Inc. at Film Movement