A pivotal scene in the Godfather 2 is when Michael shows up at Frank’s house unannounced after the incident in his house. He has come to make a game plan with Frank about how he is going to take his revenge. An ongoing theme in this movie is the cluelessness of the women to everything that is going on behind closed doors (literally). This is a small detail but I think is adds to characteristics of the men. When the men are discussing business there generally pretty low light that gives a grim tone to the scene. The producers did a really great job of making Michael look scary and intimidating. Although he keeps his calm for the most part you can see the rage in his eyes. The lighting seems to come from above and creates a shadow under his eyes. The darkness of his eyes is almost haunting.
Another important part of this scene is Michael’s tangent about his father and the lesson he learned from him. This kind of connects the flashbacks that have been consistent throughout the film to the present action. Frank lives in the house that Michael grew up in. The references that he makes to his childhood provides a break in the conversation. Literally seconds before Michael was planning out his evil plan and then he starts talking about his childhood. Michael plans is to get Roth very comfortable so that he can strike when he least expects it. Michael’s posture as he sits in the chair is notable as well. He has both arms on the armrests and his legs crossed. He sits there with a pretty stoic face as Frank talks. It is clear that Michael is deep in thought. As the scene progresses the camera slowly gets closer to their faces so as to increase the suspense.
