But Vincent lacks the gravitas and pathos of past Godfather characters even his dad Sonny had more nuance and dimension to him. Play Garcia brings a much-needed jolt of charisma and energy to the whole affair as Sonny Corleone’s illegitimate son Vincent, succeeding where Sofia Coppola couldn’t in bringing more to his underwritten role. Indeed, she appears to be the apple of his eye, with her aspiring opera singer brother Tony the one who has an icy relationship with their father. She says at one point she wants to be closer to her dad but at no point do we witness any true estrangement between them. Mary is ultimately there to be the crushing blow to her father’s vain attempt at redemption. (Sorry, but there’s still no way to dress up incest between first cousins and make it into some tragic romance between star-crossed lovers doomed by the family business.) It’s not all Sofia Coppola’s fault, mind you, as Mary is underwritten and lacks any true motivation beyond wanting to be in love with her cousin, but a stronger actress could have transcended what little there is on the page for her to play. The filmmaker’s daughter Sofia Coppola remains woefully miscast as Michael’s beloved daughter Mary, and her romance with her first cousin Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia) is still as cringe-inducing as it was 30 years ago. But this Corleone family is a shell of the one we’d previously come to know they’re less defined, less warm, and largely strangers to the viewer, with the film itself hardly developing any of its new characters to fill the void or bring anything unique or exciting to the saga. Al Pacino’s ailing, aging Michael and Talia Shire’s darker, vicious Connie are the most prominent returning cast members, with Diane Keaton’s remarried Kay playing a supporting role in service of Michael’s quest for forgiveness. Tragedy and family - among the cornerstones of the Godfather saga - are precisely what’s so off about this final entry, whether it’s Godfather: Part III or Godfather, Coda. And if by the end you haven’t shed at least one happy tear, I don’t ever want to meet you.In other words, the problems in Godfather 3 are too fundamental to be erased by merely restructuring and trimming what had been a bloated, less than engaging finale. My criteria for a good movie is one that makes me laugh, cry and think. And the denouement is so spot on I wanted to stand up and applaud. The family dynamic Heder creates rings true, the dialog sparkles (some of it signing and of course subtitled), and it frequently blindsides you with splashes of delightful humor. Notably, all three actors are deaf, and all terrific. Ruby’s mom and dad are played by Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur, her resentful brother by Daniel Durant. Director Sian Heder transcends the material’s formulaic nature, eschews cliché, and delivers the feel-good movie of the year. But you’d be doing yourself a huge disservice to write off this Sundance fave as movie-of-the-week pap. You’ve seen this heartwarming movie before, many many times.
When her school’s demanding choirmaster (Eugenio Derbez) tells her she has some serious latent singing chops and a shot at a prestigious Boston music school scholarship, she must decide between her wonderful family and her own, bigger dreams. Teenage Ruby (Emilia Jones, a young actor to watch), is the only hearing person in her Massachusetts family and vital to their struggling fishing business.
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