THE STORY – After serving several years in prison for Mafia-related crimes, Catello, a long-serving politician, has lost everything. When the Italian Secret Service “persuades” him to help capture Matteo, the last major Mafia boss still on the run – whom Catello has known since he was a boy – he sees an opportunity to stage a comeback. A shrewd man of a hundred masks and a tireless illusionist who turns truth into falsehood and falsehood into truth, Catello begins a correspondence with the fugitive, as unique as it is improbable, exploiting the younger man’s emotional emptiness. This is a gamble that, with one of the most wanted criminals in the world, will always involve a degree of risk.
THE CAST – Toni Servillo, Elio Germano, Daniela Marra, Barbora Bobulova, Giuseppe Tantillo, Fausto Russo Alesi, Antonia Truppo, Tommaso Ragno, Betti Pedrazzi, Filippo Luna, Rosario Palazzolo, Roberto De Francesco, Vincenzo Ferrera, Maurizio Marchetti, Gianluca Zaccaria & Lucio Patanè
THE TEAM – Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza (Directors/Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 122 Minutes
When Catello Palumbo (Toni Servillo), also known as the “headmaster,” emerges from prison after serving six years for mafia-related crimes, the last thing he ever expected was to help the police incriminate one of his own. But that’s precisely the situation in which he finds himself in Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s mafia takedown drama “Sicilian Letters” (“Iddu”). Based on actual events, the film follows the treacherous game Catello played as he helped infiltrate the mafia and catch boss Matteo Messina Denaro for the Italian Secret Service, all while trying to benefit himself. When you play with fire, you can only expect to be burned, and Catello gets his fair share of danger in this tale that’s often too restrained but wickedly funny.
Things are different in Catello’s life once he’s released from prison. For starters, he has a less-than-desired son-in-law (Giuseppe Tantillo), a new home, and a family that wants little to do with him. He has also lost his edge and street cred among the big guys in town, but the Italian Secret Service sees this as an asset. Previously immersed in the mob, Catello knew Matteo (Elio Germano) as a child and watched him grow into the big, evil man he is today. The Italian Secret Service wants to exploit that relationship. It leads Rita (Daniela Marra) to convince the disgraced former mayor to start corresponding with Matteo to uncover the network of “postmen” who protect and assist the boss while on the run.
Why would anyone want to put themselves in that position? Well, when you’ve lost nearly everything, you’ve got nothing to lose, so nothing is holding Catello back. Plus, this might help get his hotel business off the ground and maybe even get a little payback with the current politicians in office. Servillo is such a delight, playing this untrustworthy, stingy ex-con. He chews on every word in his letters, showing his paternal side as he exploits Matteo’s emotions following his father’s death while not hiding his selfish and sleazy side. The actor especially shines with his comedic lines; he has got the bite and timing down when insulting his son-in-law.
Regarding Matteo, Grassadonia and Piazza take a different approach to the mob boss. Rather than the usual scary man who gets in everyone’s face, Matteo is calm, calculated, and always careful when conducting business, leading to a far more restrained performance from Germano. More often than not, he’s hiding away in his secret study at home, which isn’t very compelling to watch. But things escalate quickly and precisely when he finally gets out to “handle” a situation. The main action is between Catello and Rita as they plan their next letters together, though they often bicker in the process. Marra is another standout in the film, never letting her guard down in squaring off against men. When she does come face-to-face with her boss – who makes it loud and clear that he doesn’t want any mistakes in this operation – emotions flood her face, and all you can do is watch her handle the situation in awe.
While “Sicilian Letters” is elevated by a wide range of performances, it lacks the exciting drama needed for this to be an invigorating mafia story. Focusing on the back-and-forth correspondence between the two men gives us funny moments and great lines of dialogue, but it needs some more juice, like giving Germano way more to work with as a mob boss. However, Servillo and Marra save this film from being a total sleeper.
