---
title: "Gomorrah"
year: 2008
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/gomorrah"
fi1m_id: "gomorrah"
imdb_id: "tt0929425"
tmdb_id: 8882
wikidata_id: "Q1165770"
fi1m_score: 84
critics_score: 80
critics_reviews: 8
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:54.891900+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Gomorrah (2008)

Directed by Matteo Garrone · 2h 17m · MPA NR · Drama, Crime

## Identity

Gomorrah

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/gomorrah
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** gomorrah
- **IMDb ID:** tt0929425
- **TMDB ID:** 8882
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1165770
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929425/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/8882, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1165770

**Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 80 from 8 reviews

*In a sentence:* Organised crime looks much less inviting once someone shows us the working conditions

> Matteo Garrone’s *Gomorrah* makes organised crime ugly, ordinary and frightening, with fine performances and no appetite for gangster glamour. The crowded storytelling can leave us struggling to follow, but the film’s anger earns the effort.

## Synopsis

In Naples, the Camorra reaches into the lives of people working within its rackets and those trying to live alongside them. Matteo Garrone’s *Gomorrah* follows five interweaving stories that take in organised crime, the fashion industry and toxic waste disposal. Salvatore Cantalupo plays the tailor Pasquale, alongside Toni Servillo as Franco and Gianfelice Imparato as Don Ciro. Marco Macor, Ciro Petrone and Salvatore Abruzzese play Marco, Ciro and Toto, among the people caught in this criminal economy. The separate stories follow the effects of corruption on work, everyday decisions and the chances of getting by.

## Review

Matteo Garrone’s *Gomorrah* is a crime film worth the effort it asks of us, though anyone expecting a single story to settle into should be warned. Adapted from Roberto Saviano’s book, it follows five strands through the Camorra’s activities in Naples. Garrone pays attention to the people who have to work within this economy, without supplying a commanding gangster to make it all look attractive. Much of the business seems ordinary, and that is what makes it frightening.

The violence makes that approach count. We were horrified by the gunfire, particularly the reactions of the people nearby. Marco Onorato’s cinematography keeps the surroundings present, so the danger never seems neatly confined to the people doing the shooting. There is little pleasure in watching these scenes, but their bluntness is necessary. A tidier, more exciting version would let us forget the people who have to carry on living there once the shooting stops.

Paolo Bonfini’s production design is effective because the places feel inhabited, rather than prepared for criminal activity. The Scampia locations are ugly without looking usefully sinister; there is no comforting sense that danger stays inside a particular building. The movement between fashion and toxic waste disposal also makes the film harder to dismiss as a report from somewhere safely remote. Garrone spends time on these businesses in a story that could easily have confined itself to men carrying guns.

Salvatore Cantalupo’s Pasquale, a tailor, provides the strongest reason to care about an individual. His work matters, and Cantalupo makes us want to stay with him longer than the crowded structure permits. Elsewhere, the largely non-professional cast gives the film faces that do not look as though they are waiting for their turn to impress us. The performances are unforced, and Garrone’s documentary-like approach benefits from that lack of display. It is easier to believe in the daily routines when nobody seems to be announcing a big scene.

Marco Spoletini’s editing has the difficult task of moving among five stories without making each return feel like a fresh introduction. He does not entirely manage it. We sometimes spend too long working out where we are, and the film supplies too little background to make that confusion worthwhile. This matters because understanding how the Camorra operates is part of what Garrone is attempting. At those points, another demonstration of cruelty tells us less than a clearer account of the business would.

As a gangster film, *Gomorrah* goes further than simply making its criminals look unappealing. Garrone gives us little opportunity to enjoy their power, and without a reassuring central figure, we keep looking at the lives around them. At 137 minutes, the film asks for concentration and a willingness to sit with cruelty that rarely offers any relief. We recommend it, with the warning that the early confusion takes some patience. Choose an evening when there is enough attention left to spare.

*Fi1m score 84, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics praise Gomorrah as a forceful, unsentimental account of the Camorra, stripped of the glamour and familiar pleasures of gangster films. Praise centres on Garrone’s controlled direction, the documentary-like locations and naturalistic performances, which make organised crime feel embedded in ordinary working lives. The reviews repeatedly note how its parallel stories connect street-level violence to wider systems of corruption, without offering reassuring heroes or entertaining villains.

The reservations concern what this approach leaves out, rather than its force or conviction. Screen Daily argues that the adaptation loses the book’s journalistic context, while Paste finds little character depth amid the continuing violence. Elsewhere, the slow pace, initial confusion and occasional repetition qualify an otherwise strongly favourable consensus: critics largely agree on the film’s realism, but differ over how much understanding and involvement its cool, fragmented storytelling allows.

## Straight answers

**Is Gomorrah worth watching?**

*Gomorrah* is worth watching for anyone prepared to follow five crime stories at once without a central gangster to hold them together, and we scored it 84. Matteo Garrone makes the Camorra look ordinary and frightening rather than glamorous, with unforced performances from a largely non-professional cast. The early confusion takes patience, so save it for an evening with attention to spare.

**How long is Gomorrah, and what is it rated?**

*Gomorrah* runs 2h 17m and is rated NR by the MPA in the US. It is a drama and crime film.

**Where can I watch Gomorrah in the US?**

*Gomorrah* is available to rent from Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Gomorrah, and is it suitable for children?**

*Gomorrah* carries a UK 15 certificate and is not suitable for children. The gunfire is blunt and horrifying, and Garrone dwells on the people nearby rather than the shooters, so the violence offers little of the excitement a tidier gangster film would provide. Teenagers old enough for the certificate and adults who can sit with sustained cruelty without relief are its audience.

**How does Gomorrah compare to A Prophet?**

*Gomorrah* and [*A Prophet*](https://film.one/film/a-prophet) both treat organised crime as work and survival rather than spectacle, but they are built differently. Jacques Audiard's film follows one man, Tahar Rahim's Malik, and is the more gripping and easier to follow, even if its plotting becomes a little too tidy. Garrone's film spreads across five strands with no central figure, which makes it angrier and harder work.

**Is Gomorrah based on a true story or a book?**

*Gomorrah* is adapted from Roberto Saviano's book of the same name about the Camorra in Naples. Garrone turns it into five interweaving stories covering rackets, the fashion trade and toxic waste disposal, filmed in a documentary-like manner on Scampia locations. Knowing the book is not required, though the film supplies little background, so readers of Saviano may find the strands easier to follow.

**What should I watch after Gomorrah?**

After *Gomorrah*, try [*A Prophet*](https://film.one/film/a-prophet) (2009, Fi1m 86): A French prison crime story with patient attention to power, work and survival. Then [*The Long Good Friday*](https://film.one/film/the-long-good-friday) (1980, Fi1m 88): British gangster ambition meets redevelopment, with business plans providing their own menace; and [*The Battle of Algiers*](https://film.one/film/the-battle-of-algiers) (1966, Fi1m 93): Political violence filmed with the street-level immediacy that makes Garrone’s approach so unsettling.

### Reviews we read (13)

- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a beautiful and masterful work that surpasses its source material through controlled storytelling and visual restraint. He singles out the tailor Pasquale’s story and the rueful final glimpse of a Scarlett Johansson gown for its quiet power amid the violence. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/02/23/gritty-cities)
- **Empire**, Damon Wise (80/100, inferred): The film avoids pulp gangster tropes for a slow, arthouse style that objectively exposes the Camorra's world without vicarious thrills. It delivers an outstanding drama with an under-the-skin quality, though it may disappoint those seeking a GoodFellas-style exposé. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/gomorrah-review/)
- **Evening Standard** (75/100, inferred): Garrone’s powerful film uses a matter-of-fact, cinéma vérité style to examine the Camorra’s operations and their impact on ordinary lives in Naples. It is memorable and angry at the corruption it finds, without creating heroes or colourful villains. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/gomorrah-are-not-goodfellas-7410270.html)
- **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): The critic calls it probably the most authentic and unsentimental mafia movie ever, a courageous bruising ride with impressive performances and edgy visuals. It complains that adapting the book jettisoned journalistic context, leaving only dog-eat-dog chaos with no lasting buzz. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/gomorrah-gomorra/4038782.article)
- **Slant Magazine**, Fernando F. Croce: Garrone composes a chilling mosaic of parallel stories that lays out the social, political and economic reverberations of the Camorra with an analyst’s calm and a hitman’s eye for impersonal brutality. The lean, coolly distanced approach feels like a continuation of Francesco Rosi’s caustic exposés, though points grow somewhat redundant. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/gomorrah/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw: The film is a powerful, gruelling neo-neorealist portrait of Camorra crime and corruption in Naples that leaves the viewer in despair about the region. It singles out the realistic depiction of gunfire and bystanders' reactions for particular impact. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/oct/10/crime)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**: The film is powerful and stripped to its essence, depicting the everyday reality of organized crime's foot soldiers with a spectacular cast of mostly non-professionals. It is at times slow and documentary-like but tension-filled and highly realistic. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/gomorra-125889/)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (Critic’s Pick): The critic praises the film as a corrosive and ferociously unsentimental look at the Camorra that avoids all gangster movie clichés. She singles out its global understanding of how the mob’s tentacles reach from high fashion to toxic waste dumping. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/movies/13gomo.html)
- **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (5 out of 5 stars): The critic praises the film's unglamorous, powerful and journalistic portrayal of Neapolitan crime, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes. It singles out the authentic locations, non-professional faces and bottom-up perspective on ordinary lives warped by organised crime. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/gomorrah)
- **The Skinny**, Steven Dalziel (★★★★★): The critic praises the film's unrelenting brutality, bleakness, and despair in its portrait of the Camorra, calling it a richly layered, intensely photographed, and forcefully driven visceral portrait of a violent and futile way of life. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/gomorrah)
- **Eye for Film**, Val Kermode (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a triumph in its style, performances and confident direction, noting that it rewards concentration despite initial confusion from its five interweaving stories. They single out the documentary-like feel, naturalistic performances and the unrelieved ugliness of the Scampia locations. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/gomorrah-film-review-by-val-kermode)
- **The Playlist**, Rodrigo Perez (B+): The critic describes the film as intense, unflinching and raw-nerved, delivering a powerful look at the far-reaching effects of crime and corruption through the Camorra. They single out its wake-up call quality as a cutting indictment of the blind eye turned in the name of desperation and greed. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/tiff-review-gomorrah-powerful-look-a-20080911/)
- **Paste**, Jesse Jarnow (65/100, inferred): The film is an exposé of the Camorra as a vast, dysfunctional criminal bureaucracy rather than a conventional mob drama, with parallel plots across its rackets and a bleak existential core of endless violence with no redemption or character depth. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/matteo-garrone/gomorrahrelease-date-dec-19-limited)

## Details

- **Director:** Matteo Garrone
- **Director:** Matteo Garrone
- **Screenplay:** Maurizio Braucci, Ugo Chiti, Gianni Di Gregorio, Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso, Roberto Saviano
- **Story:** Roberto Saviano
- **Novel:** Roberto Saviano
- **Cinematography:** Marco Onorato
- **Editor:** Marco Spoletini
- **Production design:** Paolo Bonfini
- **Costume design:** Alessandra Cardini
- **Producer:** Domenico Procacci
- **Cast:** Toni Servillo as Franco; Gianfelice Imparato as Don Ciro; Maria Nazionale as Maria; Salvatore Cantalupo as Pasquale; Gigio Morra as Iavarone; Marco Macor as Marco; Salvatore Abruzzese as Toto; Ciro Petrone as Ciro
- **Runtime:** 2h 17m
- **Certificate (MPA):** NR
- **Release (the US):** 16 May 2008
- **Genres:** Drama, Crime
- **Also in:** [Palme d'Or winners](https://film.one/collections/palme-dor.md) (Nominee, 2008)
- **Budget:** $6 million
- **Box office:** $35 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT7Wok6jPzI

## Where to watch in the US

- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AT, BE, CH, DE, DK, ES, FI, GB, IT, NL, NO, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- BAFTA Film Awards 2009: Best Film Not in the English Language (nominated)
- César Award for Best Foreign Film 2009: César Award for Best Foreign Film (nominated)
- David di Donatello for Best Director 2009: David di Donatello for Best Director (won)
- Independent Spirit Awards 2009: Best Foreign Film (nominated)
- International Submission to the Academy Awards 2009: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated)
- BIFA for Best Foreign Independent Film 2008: BIFA for Best Foreign Independent Film (nominated)
- Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2008: Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)
- Cannes Film Festival 2008: Palme d'Or (nominated); Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix (won)
- European Film Award for Best Actor 2008: European Film Award for Best Actor (won)
- European Film Award for Best Cinematographer 2008: European Film Award for Best Cinematographer (won)
- European Film Award for Best Director 2008: European Film Award for Best Director (won)
- European Film Award for Best Film 2008: European Film Award for Best Film (won)
- European Film Award for Best Screenwriter 2008: European Film Award for Best Screenwriter (won)
- Golden Globes 2008: Best Non-English Language Film (nominated)
- Satellite Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2008: Satellite Award for Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *A Prophet* (2009), Fi1m 86: A French prison crime story with patient attention to power, work and survival. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-prophet.md)
- *The Long Good Friday* (1980), Fi1m 88: British gangster ambition meets redevelopment, with business plans providing their own menace. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-long-good-friday.md)
- *The Battle of Algiers* (1966), Fi1m 93: Political violence filmed with the street-level immediacy that makes Garrone’s approach so unsettling. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-battle-of-algiers.md)
- *A Touch of Sin* (2013): Four Chinese stories connect money, humiliation and violence without offering much reassurance.
- *The Wire* (2002): A crime series that follows the money through work, institutions and ordinary lives.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/gomorrah