The Sicilian Clan - Film Review
Heist Movie Starring French Legends Alain Delon and Jean Gabin
Sep 30, 2009
You cannot fault Henri Verneuil’s film for ambition. The Sicilian Clan opens with a quote from Chekov and tries to match the master of the crime thriller Jean-Pierre Melville. That Verneuil never reaches the dizzy heights he is aiming for does not detract from this entertaining thriller which benefits from an Ennio Morricone score and fine performances from Alain Delon and Lino Ventura.
Alain Delon and Jean Gabin Plan the Perfect Heist
Roger Sartet (Delon) organises his escape from a prison truck with the help of ageing Sicilian mobster Vittorio Manalese (Gabin). While inside Sartet planned an audacious robbery and persuades the Manalese family to help him carry it out. Things are complicated by the dogged persistence of Inspector Le Goff (Lino Ventura) and the attractions offered to Sartet by Manalese’s daughter-in-law (Irina Demick).
The Sicilian Clan Owes Much to Melville
Like the work of Jean-Pierre Melville, The Sicilian Clan is a crime thriller dealing with notions of honour and loyalty. However Verneuil cannot match Melville’s direction, even if he does borrow one of the great director’s favourite leading men, Alain Delon for his movie.
Delon is as inscrutable as ever, suggesting a hint of regret in Sartet when his old school report card is read out to him by a Police Commissionaire and he hears how he used to smile a lot when he was a child. Delon looks away and smiles, but he never shows this side of Sartet again.
Jean Gabin, the once great star of Jean Renoir’s La Bete Humaine (1938) had seen better days by this time and looks like he would rather be elsewhere. Better though is Lino Ventura who brings charisma and depth to the archetypal role of the obsessed police officer.
The Sicilian Clan Suffers from too Many Clichés
Even back in 1969 The Sicilian Clan would have been unlikely to provide any surprises to an audience familiar with these kinds of movies. The Manalese family are caricatures; eating their spaghetti together while Vittorio scolds the daughters for wearing inappropriate clothes and an old woman sits at the table looking rather sad.
The plot is just as cliché strewn, though the action sequences are at least well-handled. Highlights include the heist onboard a Trans-Atlantic flight, Sartet escaping from a brothel by performing a Jason Bourne style-jump from one building to the next via somebody’s bedroom window and the final show down between Manalese and his younger rival.
- The Sicilian Clan
- Starring Alain Delon, Jean Gabin
- Written by Henri Verneuil, Jose Giovanni, Pierre Pelegri
- Directed by Henri Verneuil
- Year 1968
- Running time 120 mins
 |
 |
 |
