Romanzo Criminale

In the Seventies, a gang of provincial tearaways decided to "take Rome". They started by kidnapping and killing a millionaire baron and then proceeded to grab the drugs trade off resident thugs who controlled the city. Their methods were ruthless and the police appeared incapable of stopping them, possibly because those at the top were on the payroll.

Michele Placido's film glamorises these killers outrageously. Every cliché from the mobster movie handbook is reproduced here, from the hooker who makes good to the breakdown of trust within the gang. Also, the bad guys are either absurdly good-looking, or interestingly ugly. You don't get to know them, certainly not to like them, because their characters are well protected by machismo.

Everything they do looks designer led, from the black leather jackets to the guns in their jeans. Once they have locked down organised crime by eliminating the opposition, high life poisons their resolve. It's so predictable, you can tick off the fatal attractions one by one - women, drugs, drink, fancy cars, night clubs, poker, money (truck loads), but not, surprisingly, little boys.

The film is less interested in the rise to power than the fall from grace, as paranoia takes hold and the only way arguments are resolved is with a bullet, or a knife. Their leader, who calls himself The Lebanese (Pierfrancesco Favino), after happy baccy, is plainly a psychopath and, therefore, unpredictably brutal. Ice (Kim Rossi Stuart) and Dandy (Claudio Santamaria) are different. Ice becomes obsessed with revenge and appears to have certain principals, mainly concerning loyalty. Also, he falls in love with a (naturally ravishing) young teacher (Jasmine Trinca), which gangsters just don't do, because it interferes with business. Dandy likes to splash his money on material goodies, is vain and addicted to the luxuries that crime can bring, such as the delectably manipulative call girl, Patrizia (Anna Mouglalis).

The other player in this operatic killing field is the cop (Stefano Accorsi), assigned to their case. He also falls under the spell of Ms Delectable and is being undermined by the police hierarchy for reasons best known to themselves. Although Romanzo Criminales is two-and-a-half hours long, action packed and lavishly filmed, it is difficult to follow and almost impossible to understand. At least, in The Godfather you got to know the families. Here, you are lucky if you recognise the assassins.

Not that it matters.

Crime pays until the criminals fall out. And then it's déjà vu, with sexy ladies and blood on white shirts.