Johnny Secchino Film Analysis

The gangster genre is notorious for depicting women as dependent, sexualized objects. However, in Johnny Stecchino we are not introduced to Maria in that context at all. While most women are absent from the main conflicts in this genre, Maria is at the forefront. She is the mastermind behind the entire plot to fool the mafia into thinking Dante is Johnny Stecchino. She takes the initiative and inserts herself into the main conflict, thus completely changing the norm for women in gangster films. The only time we see Maria conform to the typical gangster film customs is when she deals interacts with Johnny in the beginning and middle of the film. Johnny initiates sexual contact with her, but slaps her away when she tries to kiss him and she

Benigni challenges the gender roles that are thrust upon this genre by mimicking the characteristics typical male leads have and by making the portrayal of the female lead more dominant. Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time also challenges the traditional gender roles. While Leone portrays the female characters as dependent and inferior, and the men as masculine and dominant, he also adds an element of homoeroticism between the two male leads. This homoeroticism is not uncommon in Leone films, however it is unusual for the gangster drama, since most of these films portray the male leads as masculine, and portray homosexuality as anything but

This homoeroticism is repeatedly seen throughout the film; Max interrupts Noodles when he is kissing Deborah, and he watches as Noodles rapes Carol (Leone, 1984). The homoerotic tone is pulled throughout the film with the camera continually showing close ups of Max’ face staring at Noodles (Knowles, 1999). Their relationship is extremely complex, they posses the masculinity and violence expected in this genre, however the homoerotic tension between the two male leads is exposed mostly when women are active in the scene. In the scene wherein Deborah declares her love Noodles, Max convinces Noodles to pick him and walk away from her, and when Noodles complies, the door, both literally and figuratively, closes on his relationship with Deborah. Just as Johnny Stecchino stated, “Kisses are for homosexuals and females” (Benigni, 1991), homosexuality is typically not seen as masculine or manly in the gangster genre, therefore Leone’s tone of homoeroticism between the two most powerful males in this film is an unusual one. The use of the homoerotic tone almost lessens their masculinity in the eyes of organized crime and the criminal underworld, as it also breaks the mold of the typical characteristics that the male leads posses in the gangster