Only after the Five Families war ends and Michael Corleone returns from Sicily does <em>The Godfather</em>‘s true villain reveal themselves. Alongside his father, Michael deduces that Don Barzini has been the enemy in the shadows, pulling the strings of both Virgil Sollozzo and the Tattaglia family while conspiring against the Corleones.
Realizing that the Barzini family will wait until his death before making a move, Vito warns Michael that a “friend” will approach soon after the funeral and offer to set up a meeting between the Corleone and Barzini leaders. The offer will be a trap and the friend will be a traitor, and it’s ultimately Tessio, one of Vito’s oldest and most trusted allies, who proves to be the mole.
Tessio never seemed like a potential traitor in The Godfather. Always calm, rational, and loyal to Vito, Tessio was a respected Corleone family capo and had been part of the operation for decades, leaving no obvious reason he would switch to Team Barzini.
Tessio Didn’t Believe Michael Corleone Could Successfully Replace Vito As The New Don
As seen in The Godfather Part II, Tessio was present at the genesis of the Corleone family alongside Clemenza, and his trust in Vito was resolute from this point right up until the don stepped down. Tessio respected Michael’s bravery and intelligence, but as a civilian with minimal experience of the family business, Al Pacino’s character was far from the obvious choice to replace Vito.
Tessio doubted Michael could continue with the same strong, powerful style of leadership, and that belief only hardened during Michael’s early days in charge. At the first meeting of the Corleone leadership after Michael’s appointment, Tessio and Clemenza both informed Michael that Barzini was making moves on their territory, and they each requested permission to retaliate. That permission was not granted.
Both capos immediately turned to Vito, calling him “Godfather” and hoping he could sway Michael’s mind. Aware of the bigger picture, Vito stood by Michael’s judgment. The way Tessio and Clemenza moved away from Michael and made their pleas to Vito highlighted their lack of faith in the new don. They still viewed Vito as the Corleone family’s true leader, whereas Michael was just a kid making the wrong moves in their eyes.
But whereas Clemenza kept faith in Michael (or perhaps just Vito’s assessment of Michael as a worthy successor), Michael’s perceived weakness at refusing to stand up to Barzini gave Tessio other ideas. Tessio even warned the Corleones in the same scene, “With you [Vito] gone, me and Pete will come under Barzini’s thumb sooner or later“.
Clemenza chose with his heart, while Tessio went with his head, working out that Barzini had the upper hand. As Michael himself would later concede, Tessio was always the smarter of the two capos, and he made what looked like a smart business choice by siding with Barzini.
By betraying Michael, Tessio simply believed he was being pragmatic, securing his group’s future by backing Barzini as the winning horse over Michael. It’s true that had the plot to assassinate Michael at the peace talks been successful, Barzini would have given Tessio more power and influence than he held previously, but personal gain was never Tessio’s reason for betraying Michael in The Godfather. If Tessio truly believed Michael could oust the other crime families and emerge on top, he would have stayed loyal to the Corleone family.
- Release Date
- March 24, 1972
- Runtime
- 175 minutes
