The room’s overall darkness conveys that Vito handles the family business as a true criminal would: colluding in the shadows rather than being open about his affairs.įittingly, in the film’s opening scene, Bonasera has come to Vito’s office to ask for the favor of murdering the two men who attempted to rape his daughter. The blinds are only slightly open, and shadows draw the eye to the corner of the room: domestic wallpaper, portraits of family members on the mantel, along with a bookshelf create the impression that this meeting is taking place not in an office complex, but rather in the Corleone home - or, more precisely, in Vito’s study. The first thing that stands out about Vito Corleone’s office is the lighting, or lack thereof. Don Vito, in his dimly lit office, listens to the pleas of Amerigo Bonasera
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More radically, the office’s décor suggests a code of ethics which lacks depth - a framework more concerned with appearances than with discriminating between right and wrong. Despite the office’s various changes as power shifts from father to son, enough of the décor stays the same to suggest that both men rely on a complicated moral framework - one that gives power to themselves and demands obedience from those around them. The office’s interior décor - first with Vito in power, and later with Michael - contains details that, while small to the audience’s eye, speak powerfully to how the mafia leaders choose to represent the family and how they manage the family’s affairs. The Corleone office is a crucial setting in The Godfather: after all, it is the place where Vito Corleone is introduced and subsequently the setting in which he hands over power to his son Michael.