Nothing in cinematic history has been cooler than the French gangsters of the 1960s. They oozed charisma from head to toe in their long coats, dapper suits, sexy scarves, and stylish sunglasses. These gangsters had a few common characteristics, such as being incredibly professional in their jobs by meticulously planning everything, letting their actions speak louder than their words, and valuing honor, teamwork, and craftsmanship. Jean Pierre Melville is widely regarded as the godfather of the French New Wave, as well as a pioneer of French gangster films such as Le Samourai (1967), Le Doulos (1962), Le Douxieme Souffle (1966), Bob Le Fambleur (1956), and others. Henri Verneuil’s The Sicilian Clan appears to be cut from the same cloth as the other gangster films of the time.
The Sicilian Clan is based on Auguste le Breton’s novel Le Clan des Siciliens and tells the story of a small Italian gangster clan in Paris led by Vittorio Manalese (Jean Gabin) who plans to rob a jewelry exhibition center in Rome using the information provided by a maverick criminal named Roger Startet (Alain Delon). Roger is a wanted criminal who has killed two police officers and is being pursued relentlessly by Inspector Le Goff (Lino Ventura). After scouting the exhibition store, Vittorio discovers that the security is very tight and impenetrable. He learns that the jewels will be flown to New York and displayed at an exhibition center there. As a result, he seeks the help of his friend Tony Nicosia (Amedeo Nazzari), with whom he plans to rob the jewels by hijacking the plane that is carrying the jewels to New York. Despite all the planning, complications arise, leading to a surprising outcome for some of the characters.
In a brilliantly directed opening sequence which is reminiscent of Jean Pierre Melville’s style, Roger is sentenced to prison for the murder of two police officers and is driven there in a police van. He escapes the van by cutting a hole in the floor with a cutter given to him by a corrupt police officer earlier. Following that, Vittorio orders Roger to lay low and provides him with a place to hide where he is looked after by Jeanne (Irina Demick), the French wife of Vittorio’s elder son Aldo (Yves Lefebvre). In one of the movie’s funniest scenes, she arrives at Roger’s place with groceries even though the fridge is fully stocked. She is drawn to Roger’s bad boy image and asks questions like “how does it feel after you kill someone?” but flees the room when he tells her he has not had a woman in two years. He begins a fling with her that eventually gets him into serious trouble. The scene construction in this movie is one of its distinguishing features. We have no idea what the scene is about when it begins, which enables us to concentrate more on what is going on. Only halfway through, or two-thirds of the way through the scene, do we fully comprehend what is happening, which is an effective way to keep the audience glued to the screen.
The film suffers from poor editing and the director’s inability to handle the roles of high-profile 1960s stars such as Alain Delon, Jean Gabin, and Lino Ventura, who have uneven screen time distribution. For instance, Alain Delon’s character Roger, who is introduced as the movie’s lead, almost vanishes, and his importance diminishes significantly, especially after he gives all the robbery plan details to Vittorio, which wasn’t the picture painted when the movie began. Furthermore, the plane hijacking sequence also seems to drag on longer than necessary.
Performance-wise, all three lead characters managed to grab my attention with their charismatic ways. Even though the background score was composed by one of my favorite composers, Ennio Morricone, I found it to be a little cartoonish at times, which failed to match the tone of the movie. The Sicilian Clan aspires to be included in the list of Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic gangster films but unfortunately falls short because Henri Verneuil is not Jean Pierre Melville. Comparisons aside, the movie still entertains, has a cool vibe, and provides a more than satisfying experience.
The Sicilian Clan movie link: IMDB
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