Mary Corleone

Mary Corleone

Sofia Coppola portraying Mary Corleone
First appearance The Godfather Part II
Last appearance The Godfather Part III
Created by Mario Puzo
Portrayed by Sofia Coppola
Information
Gender Female
Family Corleone family
Children None
Relatives Michael Corleone (father)
Kay Adams-Corleone (mother)
Vito Corleone (paternal grandfather; deceased)
Anthony Corleone (brother)
Sonny Corleone (paternal uncle; deceased)
Fredo Corleone (paternal uncle; deceased)
Vincent Mancini-Corleone (paternal cousin and lover)
Connie Corleone (paternal aunt)
Carmela Corleone (paternal grandmother; deceased)
Carlo Rizzi (uncle; deceased)

Mary Corleone is a fictional character in The Godfather Part III, portrayed by Sofia Coppola.[1] She is the daughter of Michael Corleone and Kay Adams and sister of Anthony Vito Corleone.

The Godfather Part II

Mary first appears in The Godfather Part II as the youngest child of Michael and Kay. She is a young child (aged about 4 or 5) in the late 1950s. Like Anthony, she does not have a significant role or story arc in the film.

The Godfather Part III

Mary is one of the pivotal characters of Godfather Part III, set in 1979-80. Her father's favorite, she is sheltered from the violent world of the Corleone crime family. She falls in love with her cousin, Vincent Mancini, Sonny Corleone's illegitimate son and Michael's protégé. While the family is traveling in Sicily, Michael tells Mary he disapproves of the romance, believing that Vincent's growing involvement in the "family business" puts her life in danger. He fears that Mary could suffer the same fate as his first wife, Apollonia, who was killed by a car bomb intended for him 30 years earlier.

Toward the end of the film, Michael names Vincent as his successor, on condition that he break off his relationship with Mary. After her brother's debut concert, the assassin Mosca tries to kill Michael. One bullet grazes Michael's shoulder, but the other accidentally hits Mary in the torso, fatally wounding her. Michael is devastated by Mary's death, which happens as he is beginning to finally put his criminal life behind him and rekindle his estranged relationship with Kay. A broken man, he retires to Sicily, where he eventually dies of old age.

Behind the scenes

Sofia Coppola, the daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola, was cast in the role after the original choice, Winona Ryder, fell ill. Rebecca Schaeffer was set to read for this role, as well, but was murdered by a deranged fan on the day she was meeting with F.F. Coppola. Coppola's performance was panned by most movie critics[2][3][4] and earned her two Razzies for Worst Supporting Actress and Worst New Star of 1990. In his review of the film in his Movie and Video Guide, critic Leonard Maltin calls the casting of Coppola an "almost fatal flaw."

Mary's aunt, Connie Corleone, is played by Talia Shire — Sofia Coppola's real-life aunt.

Sequel novels

Mary appears as a minor character in Mark Winegardner's sequel novels The Godfather Returns and The Godfather's Revenge, although in the original novel, Michael's second child is a boy.

Family

References

  1. ↑ "The Godfather, Part III (1990)". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  2. ↑ BBC - Films - review - The Godfather Part III
  3. ↑ The Projection Booth
  4. ↑ several reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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