This Italian-made drama about Mafia life in present-day Palermo would be fascinating if only for its realistic glimpse of Sicily's underworld, but it also boasts a superb performance by top-billed Donatella Finocchiaro in the title role, an earthy actress with sex appeal reminiscent of the early Sophia Loren. We first see Angela as a young woman infatuated with the notion of marrying into the mob and enjoying all the benefits of its outwardly glamorous lifestyle. Her handsome, roguish husband Saro (Mario Pupella) sets her up in a trendy shoe shop that serves as a front for his drug business, but Angela's torrid affair with one of his lieutenants, Masino (Andrea di Stefano), eventually imperils not only the marriage but their freedom as well. Of course, we're all accustomed to seeing mob stories—The Godfather, GoodFellas, Donnie Brasco, etc.—told from a male point of view, but director Roberta Torre reverses the focus, concentrating on the female protagonist, painstakingly depicting not only her fascination with the Mafia lifestyle, but also her burning desire for the wealth and social position that come with it. Yes, there's violence, but not the over-the-top stuff you see in a Martin Scorsese film; rather, Angela lavishes just as much attention on the passionate affair between the adulterous wife and her husband's foot soldier. Lushly filmed, this gangster movie is recommended. (E. Hulse)
Angela
First Look, 95 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, R, DVD: $24.99, Oct. 17 Volume 21, Issue 6
Angela
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