Mob Psychology

Reviews the television program 'The Sopranos.'

By Camille Chatterjee, published on May 01, 1999

SCREEN

What does a gangster o when offing rival mobsters gets too stressful? He seeks therapy--or that's the conclusion of a new hit TV show and recent film.

"The Sopranos," an HBO drama, debuted in January to widespread critical acclaim and rapid-fire success. The premise: Tony Soprano (played by James Gandolfini) may be a mafioso, but he faces the same demands as his law-abiding, middle class peers-whether to place his mother in a nursing home, how to navigate a rocky marriage--and work pressures, which in this case involve worries about the fate of his mob family and ensuring that hits go off without a snag. So when Tony begins to suffer panic attacks, he has no choice but to see a therapist.

Ever the tough gangster, Tony initially wants no part of touchy feely therapy and its emphasis on introspection. The dramatic juxtaposition of his cold Mafia world and the personal outpourings of therapy may be the key to the show's success. "It's an inherent conflict," explains David Chase, writer and creator of the series. "He's a fish out of water."

Furthermore, in Tony's line of work, seeking mental help is both a sign of weakness and a risk to the confidentiality of his job. Says Chase: "He worries that his associates will think he's talking about the business, when many of his problems are personal."

While the recent movie "Analyze This," starring Robert DeNiro as an anxiety-ridden mobster and Billy Crystal as his sensitive shrink, handled the issue more comically, the contrast between scenes in the hardened gangster world and those in the therapist's insular suburbia provides many of the laughs.

As for why gangsters getting emotional are showing up both on the silver screen and the tube, "1 don't know," says Chase. "Maybe it's in the collective unconscious."

PHOTO (COLOR): Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) faces typical middle-class pressures--mom, marriage, Mob.