Prizzi's HonorIs family something that we choose, or is it something that chooses for us? Prizzi's Honor is the story of a pair of assassins who fall in love with each other. There is Charlie Partanna (Jack Nicholson), the premiere hitman on retainer for the Prizzi mob, with close ties to the upper echelon of the family. And there is Irene Walker (Kathleen Turner), a charming and winsome contract killer with a penchant for silencers and turning events to her advantage. After meeting, the two quickly fall in love, but gradually discover one another's secrets, raising the question if passion alone can sustain their romance once the seeds of suspicion and mistrust are sown.
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Prizzi's Honor has been called a black comedy, owing to the absurdity of how the eventual breakdown of trust between Charlie and Irene literally has them gunning for one another. (This violent dissolution of the bonds of matrimony foreshadows Turner's role in The War of the Roses released four years later.) What makes this more ironic is that the couple is pitted against one another by forces outside of their control--i.e. the Prizzi family, for whom allowiing Charlie and Irene's marriage to come to a violent end conveniently serves their abstract interpretation of honor. "Honor" becomes a dirty word in Prizzi's Honor, and is often used to justify some unpleasantness or revenge. Led by the decrepit Don Corrado Prizzi (William Hickey), the Prizzis are selfish, petty, and corrupt. Prizzi's Honor is also a satire of mafioso dramas--like The Godfather, both films begin at a wedding, where everyone leaves their unsavory criminal personas at home; Don Corrado is also literally Charlie's godfather. Charlie was made to give a blood oath to the family as a young man, and it's clear that he has been successful as a notorious contract killer for the Don. Charlie's reputation is actually the reason why Irene was brought to New York from her home in Los Angeles as a contractor for a hit, so Charlie--who would be the most likely suspect--has an alibi to attend the wedding. But Charlie--who isn't the brightest crayon in the box--isn't thinking about anything except for the beautiful woman he saw at the wedding in a lavender dress (Irene) and desperately tries to track her down; imagine his surprise when she calls him up in the middle of the night like a shy teenager. Charlie falls head over heels in love with Irene, and almost immediately asks her to marry him--pouring his heart out to a woman he barely knows, who claims she is a "tax consultant" by trade. In a lovesick stupor, he lowers his guard, even reciting ridiculous life advice from magazines to make conversation. All seems well for Charlie and Irene...until he discovers her involvement in a casino scam to rip off the family, and that his most recent commission turned out to be Irene's husband--the first of many revelations about her that prompts Charlie to reevaluate his heart and manage his lingering mistrust.
Prizzi's Honor shares stylistic motifs with film noir classics like Chinatown (also starring Nicholson), especially in the relationship between Charlie and Irene--a chemistry that recalls Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep. Irene is a literal femme fatale, killing for a living like Charlie. After Charlie caps Irene's husband in the garage of her California home, he realizes that things really were too good to be true. Irene was either an accomplice or the mastermind of the ripoff, but relinquishes only half of the stolen money; Charlie lets her off the hook because he is still gaga for her--and tells her so. The question lingers as to whether Irene is a highly capable schemer who uses Charlie, or whether she actually loves him--a question in the forefront of Charlie's thoughts which hinders his judgment. After Charlie learns from his father--who hired Irene in the first place--that Irene is in his line of work, Charlie confides in a former lover, Maerose Prizzi (Anjelica Huston), the disgraced daughter of one of the high-ranking Prizzi's. Charlie comes to her apartment and they sleep together, and asks Maerose's whether he should marry this other woman during breakfast the next morning. Maerose tells Charlie to marry Irene, but takes steps in secret to ensure Irene's downfall and win herself back into the family's good graces. (Hell hath no fury...)
Charlie may not be stupid, but he seems oblivious to the long-term ramifications of his actions. Irene's presence clouds his objectivity, like when she invites herself along for a kidnapping job--despite her competence--or when he confides in her that he suspects Don Corrado is setting him up following an offer of promotion, who told Charlie to keep it a secret from everyone, including his father, Angelo Partanna (John Randolph). Prizzi's Honor avoids painting Irene as a full-on "Lady Macbeth", but her influence changes how Charlie conducts himself and his choices are colored by what she wants. (At one point, Charlie even asks the Don for the money Irene swindled to be given back to her.) Charlie's crisis is one where he has to choose between his "honor" with the family, and the "love" he feels for a woman who he deep down suspects may only be using him--or kill him if the price is right. The tension is constant in Prizzi's Honor after Charlie discovers that she lied to him about her husband and so on. When they get married, Irene makes about Sicilians being cheapskates; he bites back with a comment about her late husband that is exceedingly cruel given the circumstances. Irene's dismisses it with a polite smile; but whether this is because she wants to forgive Charlie or that is in her best interest to play along is irrelevant--the trust is gone before they even reach the altar. Charlie has an old-world view of women; he accidentally offends Maerose when he suggests that she should go and start a family and "practice her meatballs" after being cruelly turned away by her father, Dominic (Lee Richardson), at the wedding. He tries to deter Irene from coming with him on the kidnapping job, claiming that he "works so she doesn't have to". Like Charlie, some men feel inadequate or suspect the woman they love after realizing aspects they tried to ignore--aspects that challenge the unblemished image of their "perfect" mate built up in their minds. This cognitive dissonance contributes to Charlie's mistrust, and adds one more log onto the proverbial fire which threatens to bring their happiness down in flames.
Recommended for: Fans of a mafia drama with dark comedy moments that uses organized crime as a backdrop for a love affair that disintegrates as the lovers' secrets come to the surface. Prizzi's Honor is a sobering portrait about how fragile trust can be in a relationship, and how easily we delude ourselves into overlooking obvious pitfalls--using abstract concepts like "love" or "honor" to justify going against our character.
Prizzi's Honor shares stylistic motifs with film noir classics like Chinatown (also starring Nicholson), especially in the relationship between Charlie and Irene--a chemistry that recalls Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep. Irene is a literal femme fatale, killing for a living like Charlie. After Charlie caps Irene's husband in the garage of her California home, he realizes that things really were too good to be true. Irene was either an accomplice or the mastermind of the ripoff, but relinquishes only half of the stolen money; Charlie lets her off the hook because he is still gaga for her--and tells her so. The question lingers as to whether Irene is a highly capable schemer who uses Charlie, or whether she actually loves him--a question in the forefront of Charlie's thoughts which hinders his judgment. After Charlie learns from his father--who hired Irene in the first place--that Irene is in his line of work, Charlie confides in a former lover, Maerose Prizzi (Anjelica Huston), the disgraced daughter of one of the high-ranking Prizzi's. Charlie comes to her apartment and they sleep together, and asks Maerose's whether he should marry this other woman during breakfast the next morning. Maerose tells Charlie to marry Irene, but takes steps in secret to ensure Irene's downfall and win herself back into the family's good graces. (Hell hath no fury...)
Charlie may not be stupid, but he seems oblivious to the long-term ramifications of his actions. Irene's presence clouds his objectivity, like when she invites herself along for a kidnapping job--despite her competence--or when he confides in her that he suspects Don Corrado is setting him up following an offer of promotion, who told Charlie to keep it a secret from everyone, including his father, Angelo Partanna (John Randolph). Prizzi's Honor avoids painting Irene as a full-on "Lady Macbeth", but her influence changes how Charlie conducts himself and his choices are colored by what she wants. (At one point, Charlie even asks the Don for the money Irene swindled to be given back to her.) Charlie's crisis is one where he has to choose between his "honor" with the family, and the "love" he feels for a woman who he deep down suspects may only be using him--or kill him if the price is right. The tension is constant in Prizzi's Honor after Charlie discovers that she lied to him about her husband and so on. When they get married, Irene makes about Sicilians being cheapskates; he bites back with a comment about her late husband that is exceedingly cruel given the circumstances. Irene's dismisses it with a polite smile; but whether this is because she wants to forgive Charlie or that is in her best interest to play along is irrelevant--the trust is gone before they even reach the altar. Charlie has an old-world view of women; he accidentally offends Maerose when he suggests that she should go and start a family and "practice her meatballs" after being cruelly turned away by her father, Dominic (Lee Richardson), at the wedding. He tries to deter Irene from coming with him on the kidnapping job, claiming that he "works so she doesn't have to". Like Charlie, some men feel inadequate or suspect the woman they love after realizing aspects they tried to ignore--aspects that challenge the unblemished image of their "perfect" mate built up in their minds. This cognitive dissonance contributes to Charlie's mistrust, and adds one more log onto the proverbial fire which threatens to bring their happiness down in flames.
Recommended for: Fans of a mafia drama with dark comedy moments that uses organized crime as a backdrop for a love affair that disintegrates as the lovers' secrets come to the surface. Prizzi's Honor is a sobering portrait about how fragile trust can be in a relationship, and how easily we delude ourselves into overlooking obvious pitfalls--using abstract concepts like "love" or "honor" to justify going against our character.