An Homage to The Sopranos: One of the Modern World’s Greatest Works of Art
An Homage to The Sopranos: One of the Modern World’s Greatest Works of Art
Part Two. The Characters and their Characteristics.
Happy Columbus Day to those who celebrate it!
Before I address the background of the show and how it came to be, and some basic storylines I find compelling to share, I would like to give a faint portrait of its main characters. There will be minor spoilers in these descriptions.
What I find most remarkable about The Sopranos is that each major character is exquisitely written and acted. There is something relatable — and this is not a desirable thing in art, I think a character both relatable and inspiring one to greatness is better more so, — but there is something relatable in every Sopranos character despite their different personalities. One feels many an aspect of human temperaments and tendencies depicted in whole by each character, such that, were they all combined, a more or less whole picture of man would be made. A man flawed and virtuous at once — as everyone, more or less, is. Among men, there is no such thing as pure gold unalloyed.
The Characters
Tony Soprano, boss of a fictional crime family in the Newark area of New Jersey, represents the domineering, formidable, tough, gentlemanly, yet sympathetic and family-driven nature of man. Beneath this is a man who can be a violent “loose cannon.” One who may burst in rage at any given moment, with some or no good justification, someone occasionally moveless and apathetic, depressed; inclined to romantic and sexual affairs outside of his marriage; and on the reverse, someone whose cheery humorous presence brings joy to many, whether his associates or his family. There is something of Don Vito Corleone in Tony mixed with Othello’s jealousy and rage, Falstaff’s warm incessant wittiness. At times he goes too far with his jokes to the point of blatant offensiveness, only when he has an agenda to do so. His gauge is sporadic and can go from zero to 100 in a matter of seconds, or real quick.
Silvio Dante, Tony’s consigliere, is a no-nonsense, sheer loyal-natured man that would never betray those with whom he is friends, and for whom he works (i.e. Tony). He is content with his position as an assistant to Tony, the highest one though. He does not seek to rise above it until a scare happens to Tony’s health in season six. Silvio’s advice is the most sought after. Yet his character is comfortably diminutive, calculated, the type to speak only when necessary. He is not a bore or a square though and has his sense of humor. When he gambles he gets antsy and rageful towards the slightest annoyance or inconvenience. He is the most static character in the series, but static in the sense of consistent and not boring or colorless. Silvio was played by Steven Van Zandt, aka Little Stevie, a guitarist in his own band and in Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band.
The man who desires to rise above the “regularness” or mundanity of life and be someone great and other than the masses, yet is constantly disappointed and offset in that attempt, and thereby inclined to copious drug use, such is Christopher Moltisanti, a nephew of Tony’s who is also an associate and eventual captain in the crew. Michael Imperioli played Christopher.
Imperioli is one of the many actors from Goodfellas who made their way on to The Sopranos.
The selfishness and pettiness, the easily-offended nature of some men, is found in Paulie Walnuts, played by the late Tony Sirico. With Paulie, such a character, perhaps not realized by most viewers because of his flamboyance and humor, is one of the deepest: he is lonely unbeknownst to himself, a bastard unrealized until his biological mom, a nun who hitherto he thought was his aunt, reveals it to him while on her deathbed late in the series; a man without a focus or direction in life aside from acquiring money through his means, who is more or less content with that. A man who has no life outside of his mob-routine. An unpensively pensive man; a loner. Most people see him as the wisecracker, but beneath the clown image is a deeper sadder man.
In Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, — though a regular for the first two seasons only, his impact is left through the whole series, — there is a man at once disloyal and loyal, one who was once loyal but grew disloyal to his friends and crew after getting caught by the feds for dealing heroin. A bullshit artist of the highest degree to the feds he is working with, and the Soprano crew who he is ratting on. But he is half a rat, indecisive as to whether he wants to commit to being an informant or not, at least that’s what I saw in him. Vincent Pastore, another actor from Goodfellas, portrays Big Pussy.
In Adriana La Cerva, there is a woman who is utterly and naively loyal to her boyfriend Christopher. Drea De Matteo played this role exceptionally.
Ralphie Ciffaretto, excellently acted by Joe Pantoliano, is a man full of himself, incredibly cocky, constantly telling jokes and being offensive, always filling any room with copious laughter, a tendency which almost costs him his life; a man not to mention perverse and violent; but a hard worker and big-time money earner; yet his character is a second chance, a man attempting to change his ways once a tragedy hits his son, a second chance that was never fulfilled. I’m convinced this was the case due to how sincere and grave his behavior and attitude were after after this event along with Tony’s dream about a caterpillar crawling out of Ralph’s head.
Patsy Parisi is a calm simple “yes-man” who occasionally acts outside of this manner once his very high boiling point is reached. The picture at the head of the blog shows an example of this. Bobby Baccalieri (Baccala) is a bolder version of this, but also is timid and therefore bullied, unlike Patsy. Towards the series end he grows out of his shell and becomes more mob-like and tough. Steve Schirippa played Bobby, who is one of the funniest characters on the show largely because of his shyness and naivety, and him being made fun of by other members of the crew.
Janice Soprano, sister of Tony, is a conniver and dishonest woman who is always prowling for a way to enrich herself and become secure financially. A schemer. She puts on an innocent front, but her brother Tony sees through her lies every time they come forth. She is a freeloader who seeks to live off of the wealth of other men in the mob life upon her return to New Jersey from years of gypsy-like traveling of the world. She lies and manipulates others — her family included — to get money and the means of subsistence. Aida Turturro plays Janice.
Uncle Jun’ (Junior), originally the boss of the family in season one, is a nostalgic old man who goes out of his prime by season two when he becomes house-ridden due to his arrest. He is inclined to storytelling as most old men are, completely unaware of his selfishness regarding his needs from others. A man easily agitated. Old men inclined to raconteuring the old days of their prime and diffusing “dad-jokes” around a room. Dominic Chianese, a veteran actor, plays Junior.
Livia is Tony’s mother who is never satisfied with, or appreciative of, her children or anything in life. With her aging, Tony decided to put her in a retirement community which enraged her and Uncle Jun’, leading to repercussions that are not worth spoiling any more than I already have. Nancy Marchand played this role — designed after Chase’s mother.
Carmella is a loyal wife to Tony Soprano and a caring mother who fails to rise above the conventions of a housewife, though it seems oftentimes, behind her countenance, there is far more depth than that. She is hypocritical in her values concerning her marriage to Tony and her espousal of Catholicism. She wants her children to succeed in legitimate professions. This role is played perfectly by Edie Falco. Falco’s role in a lesser-known independent film called The Laws of Gravity (1993) led to her landing the role of Carmella. That film I watched about a month ago and enjoyed it’s grittiness in style and in subject. I find it the Mean Streets of the 1990s.
Jennifer Melfi is a professional psychiatrist who treats Tony for his panic attacks and mental health issues. Her stiffness was never cracked by Tony, who came onto her romantically several times. In scenes outside of her psychiatry we see a more normal woman. Tony only saw that aspect once while dining with his crew, when she was drunk and had approached him. At that time he was disinclined toward her. Lorraine Bracco, who played Karen Hill in Goodfellas, departed from the mob-wife role in her portrayal of Melfi, a great decision for an actress to avoid typecasting and to excel in a different-tempered character.
Furio Giunta, a native of Napoli who is recruited by Tony’s crew, is a well-rounded man who, were he not a gangster, would be the most coveted of men by many a woman: he meets their criteria for fitness, he is a native Italian, he enjoys yardwork and making homemade wine and growing vegetables, cooking, yet remains “masculine” and a physical threat to many. Perhaps his only fault in this respect is effeminacy in failing to go after Carmella, his eventual love interest and also Tony’s wife. Federico Castellucio plays this role. Compare his accent in the show to his actual accent and you will see how good of an actor he is. The same can be said for Gandolfini.
Artie Bucco, one of my favorite characters behind Tony and Ralphie, is a chef who owns the restaurant “Vesuvio,” most frequented by the crew and their families. He is a desperate lover of his restaurant’s hostesses (despite his wife Charmaigne), and is perceived weak due to his failure to win any fight or initiative he puts himself into outside of his restaurant. As with Paulie, one images the clown who is there for others’ entertainment, one who is seen being bullied by others when viewing this character. His is very tragic compared to the others, yet not such that his character is dead before series end.
Meadow is Tony’s daughter who is stubborn yet loyal to her dad. AJ Soprano is Tony’s son, Meadow’s brother, also stubborn, rude, and never seems to get himself put together by the series end. We see both characters grow up during the show. Both Jamie Lynn Sigler, who played Meadow, and Robert Iler, who played AJ, play these roles perfectly. As a side-note, it is encouraging to see their friendship continue after the show. Iler on his podcast with Jamie thanked David Chase for bringing them together and providing him with his best friend in life.
Tony Blundetto (Tony B), a cousin of Tony’s who appears in season five after getting released from a few decades-long prison sentence, is perhaps the most complicated character in the whole series. It seems to me that there is something of each character above in Tony B. Loyalty perhaps is his greatest trait. Steve Buscemi gave one of the best performances in the series despite him being in only one season. He also directed a few episodes of the series.
To conclude, I will say my favorite roles in The Sopranos are Tony, Ralphie, Artie, Christopher, and Tony B.