After a several-year-long attempt to leave the world of organized crime, Gennaro Savastano (Salvatore Esposito) returns to Naples in a bid to reclaim what is his by birth. Standing in his way are the remaining Capaccios and Llevantes, emboldened by success and their criminal enterprises thriving despite great personal losses. But first, he has to clean up his own backyard: several ranking Dons have been working against Genny’s plans for the last several seasons and one has kept something of particular value hidden from him.
One such Don leads him to Riga where he finds Ciro Di Marzio (Marco D'Amore) working as an attaché for the mob’s Russian allies there. The two reconnect, briefly, before Genny has Ciro hauled off to a gulag to live out the remainder of his days in torturous isolation. Unfortunately for Genny, Ciro is equal parts cunning, ruthless, and lucky. Having escaped the gulag, the infamous gangster returns to Naples, proclaiming with the bodies of two former allies and a banner reading “l'immortale è tornato”: The Immortal has returned.
This season begins with a bang that doesn’t end until the last moments of the last episode. Genny’s re-entry into organized crime has completely derailed the plots of everyone in Secondigliano and Naples even more effectively than the death of Don Pietro a couple of seasons hence. His enemies and anyone who even resembles a traitor are put down with expert efficiency. That all comes to an end as Ciro returns, building an organization dedicated to nothing else but destroying Gennaro’s ambitions, to make him feel the agony of defeat.
While other seasons have been brutal and bloody, none are quite as brutal as the series’ final season. The gunplay (which I’ve been missing since season 1) is back in full force. Multiple, professional crews are the last players in this deadly game and they’re using their full force in a desperate bid to survive. The plots hatched by rival gangsters are even more complicated and surprising than ever before. The cinematography on display is much more reminiscent of the first season, seeking to end the series where and how it began. The final shot is hauntingly beautiful and provides a surprising amount of closure for the series.
In all, Gomorrah Season 5 is an outstanding selection for crime series shelves and should join any other seasons of this series already in your film collection. Highly Recommended.
What public library shelves would this title be suitable for?
Season five of Gomorrah belongs on crime, drama, and action public library shelves and would be at home beside the likes of Breaking Bad and The Sopranos.