My heart goes out to those in difficult situations.  I do not intend to be vague, but I am also not trying to discriminate.  When it is not our own lives, who are we to say that a wife in an abusive relationship has more difficulty than a child with parents addicted to drugs?  Those are just two examples, but no matter what it is, I pray for those people.  What I can say is that God is close to those who suffer in terrible circumstances not of their own doing.  When I came across Married to the Mob (1988) on Amazon Prime and watched the trailer, this was my first thought regarding main character Angela de Marco (Michelle Pfeiffer).  Because of this, this Academy Award nominated film deserves a little further scrutiny.

Angela is not the only person Married to the Mob.  It is her husband, Frankie “The Cucumber” de Marco (Alec Baldwin), who we first meet in the film.  His connection to organized crime is as an up-and-coming hitman working for local boss Tony “The Tiger” Russo (Dean Stockwell).  Frankie carries out a hit on a train for Frankie before returning to the home he shares with Angela and their son, Joey de Marco (Anthony J. Nici).  Before he gets there, we are finally introduced to Angela.  We know something is different about her when she is indifferent to the wives of all the mafia men who are with her at the salon, including Tony’s wife, Connie Russo (Mercedes Ruehl).  When Angela and Frankie finally see each other at home, he is aware that she has turned down the opportunity to hang out with her so-called friends, particularly Connie.  Because Frankie has ambitions to move up in the organization, he is not happy with Angela’s decision.  Angela is not happy either, with Connie and the others, her husband’s shady employment, and the environment in which they are raising Joey.  Before he leaves for a meeting called by Tony, she tells Frankie she wants a divorce.  Frankie laughs it off and departs.  That night, with Agent Mike Downey (Matthew Modine) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and his partner, Agent Ed Benitez (Oliver Platt), surveilling them, Tony and his goons congregate at a local restaurant.  One of the waitresses there is Karen Lutnick (Nancy Travis), a woman with whom Tony is having an affair.  They meet later that night at a nearby hotel for some inappropriate behavior.  Not long after he departs, Frankie arrives for the same thing.  Instead, Frankie finds Karen with a bullet in her head, and Frankie meets the same fate, all done by Tony.  During the funeral, Tony sees a grieving Angela and begins to have the hots for her.  He is caught on camera by Agents Benitez and Downey kissing her.  The FBI misinterprets the smooch as a sign of affection, not seeing Angela push away from Tony.  As such, the authorities assume that she has something to do with the deaths of Frankie and Karen.  Instead, after Tony sends a bunch of gifts to Angela’s house, she gives away most of the household furnishings to charity and moves to Brooklyn with Joey.  I would have preferred she donate it all to St. Vincent de Paul, but her heart is in the right place.  The FBI has Agents Benitez and Downey continue to monitor Angela, and they witness Connie and Tony harassing Angela when they discover the location of her cheap apartment.  For Connie, it is her growing suspicion that Tony is sleeping with Angela that brings her to Angela’s doorstep, showing up to make threats against the widow.  As Agent Downey is installing a listening device in Angela’s place, they accidentally get forced to ride the elevator together.  She is drawn to his kindness, and he is interested in her as a potential suspect.  He also does not say he works for the FBI, instead passing himself off as a plumber.  Being none the wiser, she asks him out on a date.  As they spend time with one another, he realizes that not only is she innocent, but that she is the kind of woman with whom he can fall in love.  Their potential relationship is disrupted, however, when there is an attempt on Tony’s life.  The FBI calls in Agent Downey, asking him how he could get so close to Angela and miss out on Tony almost being killed.  Because of this, they are forced to bring in Angela for questioning, and Agent Downey must reveal his true profession.  Agent Downey’s boss, Regional Director Franklin (Trey Wilson), informs Angela that she has a number of charges they can levy against her unless she cooperates.  Thus, she returns to Tony, playing the concerned girl after hearing about his near-death experience.  Given how she had previously been cold to him, he is suspicious of her sudden interest.  Still, he decides to take her with him to Miami where he plans to meet with other crime families and settle any problems that might be leading to the assassination attempts on him.  When Connie finds out about the trip, she goes to the airport to see him off, and he must hide Angela from his wife.  At the same time, Tony spots Agent Downey disguised as a pilot, and recognizes the FBI officer.  Thus, with more of the FBI staking out the Miami resort in which Tony is staying, he has a couple of his goons capture Agent Downey and bring him to Angela and Tony’s suite.  Tony’s men find bugs Agent Downey and Angela are carrying, but Agent Downey bluffs, saying that the FBI is about to break through the door unless they all surrender.  Instead, the first one to bang on the door is Connie with a gun.  In the confusion, Agent Downey gets hold of a firearm, protects Angela, and shoots Tony’s men.  With this, the rest of the FBI arrive and Tony is taken into custody.  The last scene sees Agent Downey showing up at the salon at which Angela is working where he is forgiven for lying.

Indeed, second chances are a major part of Married to the Mob’s plot.  It is what Angela desires when she moves to Brooklyn, and she does the same for the person she has come to love.  Forgiveness is a great and mysterious act.  God forgives those who have a serious, contrite heart.  In other words, you have to mean it and work at it.  For us Catholics, when we recognize that we need that forgiveness, we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It takes effort, or work, to leave the house, go to a church, stand in line for Confession, and to do the penance assigned by Jesus’ representative in the priest.  While Angela never does any of this, she is willing to do what it takes to disconnect from her former life.  She realizes that she has done wrong and seeks to do something about it.  In fact, that is almost a direct quote of hers.  She understands the fact that she had been living in sin with her husband, and that it is a mistake to continue to do so.  One might argue from a Catholic perspective that her request for a divorce is not in keeping with Church teaching.  While Catholicism certainly discourages divorce, that does not mean there are not instances when separation from a spouse is unwarranted.  Having a husband who is unfaithful and a murderer is one such instance.  God does work in mysterious ways.  I do not mean to suggest that God specifically let Frankie die.  All life is precious to Him, and as is the theme of this paragraph, individuals deserve a second chance to change their lives.  What should be the focus is Angela’s handling of the situation.  Not only does she embrace the change, but she does so with integrity.  It is great that she is accordingly blessed in the end.

It might be an odd thing for a Catholic to say, but it is good to be divorced when you were Married to the Mob.  Angela does what she can given her awful circumstances, and that is admirable.  It is better, though, to not associate yourself with wrongdoing.  There are some scenes in it that I can do without that include nudity and violence.  Otherwise, it is a sneaky good movie that you might enjoy.