‘Piranhas’ sinks teeth into Italian mob scene
In opening scenes of Claudio Giovannesi’s “Piranhas,” which might as well be called “Goodfellas Jr.,” the film’s baby-faced protagonist Nicola (Francesco Di Napoli) and his friends vandalize a large Christmas tree in a town square in the Rione Sanita section of Naples and later set it ablaze.
Nicola is 15. He lives with his mother (Valentina Vannino), who runs a small dry cleaning shop and pays an extortion fee for protection to local mafiosi. The previous crime family in charge of this section of Naples has been busted by the police. A new crew has taken over, and after becoming a collector for the new crew, surprisingly ambitious Nicola decides to try to take over the whole business.
“Piranhas,” which won the Silver Bear for its screenplay in Berlin, is not really anything new in terms of mobmovie tropes. Nicola and his buddies are thrown out of a sporting apparel shop, where the prices are outrageous, because they have no money. Nicola wins over the old crime boss, who is retired, but whose approval and cache of guns, including AK-47s, are necessary to become a force in the ’hood.
Nicola’s little brother wants to get in on the action, but has a lot of growing up to do. Nicola begins a
romance with a beautiful local girl named Letizia (Viviana Aprea), whose disapproving father runs a modest trattoria. In a surprisingly deft move, Nicola takes Letizia to the opera on their first date, and they are both dazzled. He also takes her to a local nightclub, where he previously was unwelcome and where he and his fellow underage gang members celebrate after they take over their neighborhood. Also at the club are members of other area gangs, including the Quartieri Spagnoli crew.
The boys take over the cocaine and hashish trade. The money, booze and drugs begin to pour in, and some of these underage players obviously cannot handle them. Nicola buys his mother furniture far too gaudy-looking and expensive for her modest flat, where he still lives. Threatened by an old-school mafioso, Nicola dresses in drag to get payback in scenes that may remind some of “The Godfather: Part II.”
Giovannesi’s co-writer Roberto Saviano is also the author of the best-seller “Gomorrah,” which was made into the 2008 awardwinning Matteo Garrone film and a 2014 Italian TV series. Saviano is also the author of the best-selling book on which “Piranhas” is based.
The piranhas in the film navigate Naples’ narrow, mean streets on motor scooters, which are far more practical and navigable than the behemoth-sized SUVs favored by the adult gangsters. Lensing by Daniele Cipri brings the teeming, ancient European city to life. “Piranhas,” which was cowritten by Giovannesi, Saviano and Maurizio Braucci (“Pasolini”), may have also been inspired by the 2017 crime wave in Naples that left several dead at the hands of so-called “baby gangs.”
Giovannesi, who shot on location in Naples, hired local kids and non-professionals for his cast, giving his film another level of realism. The film’s ending may remind you that the circle of life is also a non-ending cycle of violence. According to The Economist, one of the Neapolitan baby gangs had a “boss” age 16. Unemployment among juveniles in Naples is among the highest in Europe, according to the report. Crime inevitably fills the vacuum.
(“Piranhas” contains nudity, sexually suggestive scenes, profanity and violence.)