The Offer tells the story of one of the greatest movies almost never made!
There have long been many tales of the infamous story behind the story — the making of The Godfather. There are so many reasons why this movie almost didn’t happen. From the chaos at Paramount with studio executives to the Mafia inserting a heavy hand in efforts to stop the production to the casting choices that almost didn’t happen.
On many levels, it seems as though this movie should have been soaked in concrete and dumped into the ocean to rest beside Luca Brasi in an eternal snooze with the fish. But yet, it did get made. The Godfather spawned Oscar wins, launched careers, brought on sequels, and created a mythology all of its own.
It even launched this behind-the-scenes biopic mini-series based on the true story of the making of the movie.
Miles Teller leads the way as Albert Ruddy, producer of The Godfather. Ruddy, an unlikely movie mogul, finds himself at the helm of this make-or-break opportunity. Teller is exception as Ruddy. But he is not alone. The Offer is perfectly cast and exceptionally acted.
Matthew Goode is simply glorious as Robert Evans, a life-in-the-fast-lane Paramount executive. If you haven’t seen The Kid Stays in the Picture, it is an intimate look at Evans, his meteoric rise, his fall, and his triumphant return. His is a crash and burn and continue moving forward tale.
Giovanni Ribisi puts in one of his all-time performances as mobster Joe Colombo. Colombo first tries to stop the making of the movie, then later embraces The Godfather.
The money behind paramount comes from Charles Bludhorn, portrayed wonderfully by Burn Gorman stubbornly supporting The Godfather, while his sidekick Barry Lapidus (Colin Hanks) attempts to stop the movie at every given chance.
June Temple lays the foundation for a strong female character making her way as Bettye McCart navigating a world traditionally ruled by men.
But the scene stealer, the show stopper, is Dan Fogler, who amazingly mimics and portrays Francis Ford Coppola. In fact, it is difficult to tell where Coppola ends and Fogler begins.
The show is perfectly cast from top to bottom and the storytelling is masterful.
Gordon’s Grade: A
