The Traitor; An Original Look at a Real Life Mob Boss. Grade: B+

The Traitor is a biographical drama of a previous member in the mafia Tommaso Buscetta (Pierfrancesco Favino), whom got caught by the feds. As a couple of his sons died, Tommaso was feeling extremely guilty while behind bars, as he plans to come clean about all the wrong things him and the mafia did. Witness a compelling story of a man of taking responsibility for the mistakes he made.

The Cinematography t’was very lovely, visually stunning at times. The Score was rock solid, enjoyed the music in this film. The cast all in all across the board t’was very good. Pierfrancesco Favino playing our main character Tommaso had a great performance, as he complimented the turnaround of once a leader of the mafia, to an informant, all for just doing the right thing. Of course we can understand the frustration and anger from his colleagues, as he surely put them behind bars. There comes a reality where enough is enough, where incident people whom do absolutely nothing to deserve murder... Tommaso felt not only heart broken due to the lost of friends and even his own two kids, but just completely ashamed of what the mafia has become. That’s why he felt the need to let everything out and come clean, a life with guilt can become troublesome for those carrying a life moving forward.

Couple flaws to mention. I do felt the film was a bit slow at times, for some might find it boring because it’s not your typical gritty mafia crime dramas we’ve seen from earlier films like Goodfellas, Godfather 1 and 2, Casino etc. I also want to point out the marketing for this film is extremely misleading. The extreme horrific moments of violence really only come in the beginning and one epic sequence in the third act, the rest of the film is basically a drama, with lots and lots of dialogue in court rooms, jail cells, a restaurant featuring an Italian singing Santa... Yup. Before I forget there is one sequence where characters are at a zoo featuring a white tiger... The scene felt completely random, as I’m still confused of what that was all about. I was really looking forward to The Traitor, the trailer looked pretty great for my taste. Despite my issues with the marketing, I really enjoyed The Traitor. What I really admire from The Traitor is it’s an original mafia movie, that doesn’t try to copy the classics. For some that may be a put off, but for me anytime a film maker taking on a well known theme and can make it’s own thing, deserves praise. The story itself kept me engaged for the most part and in a way, it delivers a nice message as well about accepting responsibility. It was like Tommaso was the key to end the mafia as we know it, in a way we should thank him as a great amount of crime and death were prevented to continue for years to come, all because he did the right thing. I do want to discuss that epic sequence in the third act... Wow, that was absolutely thrilling. Of course there is one thing that does confuse me which I won’t spoil, but absolutely a thrilling sequence followed by great camera work that really will stay in my head for a great amount of time. If you’re looking for an engaging mafia crime drama, The Traitor certainly will do that for you.

Overall, The Traitor was a pretty damn good film. I highly recommend checking this one out. Due to circumstances of today’s world regarding health concerns, here at Strictly Films we would certainly not encourage others to put themselves in harms way over a film. Though this is my favorite of the year so far, if you feel uncomfortable going out of your way to see it, by all means stay home, your safety and health is our top priority. Thank you for supporting Strictly Films, God Bless you all. -Mitch Smietana