Character Foils

In Francis Ford Coppola’s film The Godfather, the use of character foils are best seen through Michael Corleone and Santino (Sonny) Corleone.   A foil is a character that contrasts with the main character to highlight the different qualities of the other character.  This is saying that even though Michael Corleone and Sonny are destine to live the same life, it does not mean that they have o make the same decisions.  Francis Ford Coppola uses character foils the contrast the different decisions and the different consequences that come with them.  Sonny and Michael are both the children of the Godfather, they are going to fill their father’s shoes when they grow older, and they both do not really have a choice but to follow the mafia way of life.

An example of this is the way that Sonny and Michael act.  By looking at Michael and Sonny’s character, we can tell that Michael will always think about his next decision and Sonny will always act using rash and violent decisions.  A good example of this is when Vito Corleone gets shot and goes to the hospital.  Once Sonny finds out that his father has been shot, he immediately sends his men to find his shooters.  Michael on the other hand thinks through the situation and creates a good plan to avenge their father.  In this case, we have the two brothers in the same situation but come up with very different solutions.  By doing this, Francis Ford Coppola highlights both their faults and the successes.  Another example is when Sonny’s sister is being beaten to death and when Michael’s Sicilian wife is murdered.  Michael takes it very calmly while Sonny takes it very seriously.  Sonny races to aid his sister and gets shot to death on the free way.  Michael decides not to run after Appolonia’s killer but returns home to New York.  This is another scene where character foils are used to highlight Sonny’s and Michael’s differences.