6. Goodfellas
Exploring the highs and lows of New York's Italian Mafioso, Martin Scorsese's film is a blistering adaptation of the book
Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, itself an account of real-life blue-collar hoodlums in New York during the 60s and 70s. Ray Liotta plays Henry Hill, a local kid destined for big things with the neighbourhood toughs. Working his way up from petty crime to major burglary, Hill is taken under the wing of two mentors: the slick Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro), and the thuggish, explosive Tommy DeVito. This murderous duo eventually have Henry complicit in the murder and disposal of a fellow crime figure - an act punishable by death inside the rules of the Mob. Eventually, Henry is forced to do a stretch after getting caught and sent to prison. Inside, he forms a drug dealing connection - one he will maintain upon release, flying in the face of the rules that specifically prohibit the trafficking of drugs within their clan (mob bosses, we are told, get hard time for handling the goods). Ultimately, Henry's interests fly in the face of Mob concerns and when Jimmy starts killing off his own men (a lucrative heist turns him paranoid), the net begins to tighten around the criminals. Henry gets horribly addicted to the product he's shifting. His private life implodes as the FBI hover overhead in helicopters. Loyalties shift as Henry turns informant, setting out to expose his former lackeys.
Goodfellas serves to prove a truism in the old adage that there's no honour amongst thieves. The shifting nature of Henry's relationship with Jimmy and Tommy sees those who were once allies become like sharks, circling in before the kill. The conniving, conspiratorial behaviour on display perfectly captures the isolating experience of the moment when you realise your friend is actually your enemy.