The Counsellor, 1973.
Directed by Alberto De Martino.
Starring Tomas Milian, Martin Baslam, Dagmar Lassander, Francisco Rabal, and Carlo Tamberlani.
SYNOPSIS:
When the godson of San Francisco’s crime lord asks permission to leave “the business,” Don Antonio agrees, but reluctantly.
After being released from serving two years in prison for bribery, Thomas Accardo (Tomas Milian) returns to his position of counsellor to mob boss and his literal godfather, Don Antonio (Martin Balsam), but his time inside has given him pause for thought and he decides he does not wish to continue with his life of organised crime. Don Antonio tries to convince him that this isn’t a good idea but Thomas has made up his mind, although when it gets leaked that he wishes to leave and live a regular life it doesn’t go down too well with the other families, instigating a takeover of Don Antonio’s empire and causing Thomas to return to the fold to help his godfather take out his enemies.
The thing about 1970s cinema is that there were cool movies and there were really cool movies, and The Counsellor (a.k.a. Counselor at Crime) is one of the really cool ones, for not only does it have the funkiest of funk soundtracks courtesy of Riz Ortolani, it wears its influences on its sleeve and revels in the gritty 1970s authenticity of filming a Mafia-based movie on the gritty streets of San Francisco and also partly in Sicily. Taking its main inspiration from The Godfather – what else? – The Counsellor focuses on the relationship between Don Antonio and Thomas Accardo and keeps that central to everything else that is going on around them, and thanks to the endearing screen chemistry between Martin Balsam – who seems in his element playing a ruthless, but likeable, Mafia Don – and Tomas Milian there is every reason to stay engaged with the movie to follow what happens to them.
Of course, this is an Italian crime movie so we get car chases, violent shoot-outs and brief flashes of female nudity so it ticks all the boxes, but it is all shot so stylishly and 1970s San Francisco is always a brilliant setting for a crime thriller, especially in the wake of Dirty Harry. For its final act, The Counsellor moves to Palermo, Sicily for some authentic Italian mafiosi action in amongst the passageways of the old country, setting itself up for a brutal showdown that shifts the movie up a gear in terms of spectacle and an emotional final scene that, in the hands of lesser actors, could have undone all the good work laid down before it.
As far as poliziotteschi movies go, The Counsellor hits every beat you would expect with style and flair, making it a very easy watch even if Euro-crime movies are not your forte. For those well versed in the genre it may come across as a little predictable or clichéd, but to deviate too far from the template would have made it in to a different beast entirely, and this is a movie that wants to exploit everything in its armoury to full effect. It won’t blow your mind as far as originality goes, but in the world of clones of The Godfather, Dirty Harry or The French Connection, The Counsellor stands as one of the most solid and, thanks to the chemistry between its two leads and that catchy score, one of the ones you won’t mind revisiting again and again.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★/ Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
