One ofGoodfellas’ lightest and funniest scenes is a big contrast with what Henry (Ray Liotta), Tommy (Joe Pesci), and Jimmy (Robert De Niro) are going through at that moment, but one detail gives a whole new meaning to it. Although Martin Scorsese has made various gangster movies, all of them praised by critics,Goodfellasis the one widely regarded as his best in that genre. Based on Nicholas Pileggi’s 1985 nonfiction bookWiseguy,Goodfellaschronicles the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill, from his teenage days running errands for Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his crew, to becoming part of it.
While working for Paul’s family, Henry met many big names in the mob and became close to some of them, such as Tommy DeVito and Jimmy “The Gent” Conway. Together, Henry, Tommy, and Jimmy committed various crimes, includingthe infamous Lufthansa heist. Henry and Jimmy even helped Tommy get rid of the body of Billy Batts after Tommy brutally attacked him out of rage and later killed him. It’s while they’re on their way to dispose of the body thatGoodfellashas its funniest scene, which, thanks to a theory, takes a completely new meaning.
Goodfellas Theory Suggests A Parallel With The Last Supper In 1 Scene
One Detail In Tommy’s Mother’s Home Makes A Difference
Billy Batts was a made man from the Gambino crime family who had just been released from prison. Batts was celebrating at Henry’s bar when Tommy arrived. Batts started talking about what Tommy did when he was a kid, making fun of him for shining shoes. Tommy waited until Batts was alone to attack him, and he brutally beat him, with Jimmy’s help. Tommy, Jimmy, and Henry wrapped Billy’s body in a tablecloth, put him in the trunk of Henry’s car, and drove to Upstate New York to bury the body, asthe unsanctioned murder of a made man invited retribution.
Goodfellas True Story: How Billy Batts' Real Murder Was Different
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However, they needed a shovel, so they stopped by the house of Tommy’s mother to pick one up. Tommy’s mother heard them come in, convinced them to stay, and prepared a whole meal for them. During dinner, Tommy’s mother asked him what he had been up to and shared some funny memories before showing them the painting she had just done of two dogs and a fisherman on a boat. The casual exchange while Batts’ body was in the car makes this scene one ofGoodfellas’ funniest moments, but aReddittheory suggests a parallel with the Last Supper.
Tommy’s mother was played by Martin Scorsese’s mother, Catherine Scorsese.
The author of the theory points out a framed painting of the Last Supper between Tommy and his mother, which made them realizethat meal was the last dinner Tommy, Jimmy, and Henry had togetherbefore “the damning of their souls.” Batts’ murder is a turning point in the stories of Jimmy, Tommy, and Henry in different ways: Jimmy and Henry went to jail after that and the latter began to sell drugs, while Batt’s murder is the reason why Tommy was killed.
Goodfellas’ Dinner Scene With Tommy’s Mother Foreshadowed Henry’s Betrayal
Henry Ended Up Ratting On His Friends
As mentioned above, Henry got involved in drug trafficking when he, Jimmy, and Paulie were sent to jail, and he needed to support his family somehow.Paulie’s rule was for his crew to never get involved in drugs, and as Henry didn’t stop and this escalated quickly, Paulie kicked him out. Knowing that he and his family were no longer safe, Henry did the only thing he could to survive and protect his family: enroll in the witness protection program and give the FBI information on the mob, mostly Paulie’s crew.
Henry was sitting on the left just like Judas in the Last Supper painting.
Henry’s testimonies led to Paulie and Jimmy being sent to prison, and Henry’s betrayal might have been teased in the dinner scene with Tommy’s mom. AnotherReddituser suggested that Henry’s place at the table also has a meaning and that he was sitting on the left just like Judas in the Last Supper painting.Like Judas, Henry went on to betray his friends at the table, and this scene at Tommy’s mother’s house also showed how Henry never truly fit in with the rest.
Who Ratted On Tommy DeVito (Was It Henry)?
Tommy’s Death Is Surrounded By Mystery
Henry betrayed his friends and ratted on them, Jimmy ended up in jail, and Tommy was murdered – however, it’s unknownwho ratted on Tommyand ordered his death. Henry explained in a voiceover thatTommy’s murder was in retaliation for the death of Billy Batts, but it’s never revealed who was behind the hit. As the one who pulled the trigger was Paulie’s brother, along with information from the murder of the real Tommy, it’s generally understood that Paulie himself ordered Tommy’s murder.
The real Paul had an affair with Karen Hill while Henry was in jail, and she told him Tommy had tried to sexually abuse her. Paul then told the Gambino family that Tommy killed Batts, leading to his death. Other theories suggest it wasJohn Gotti who ordered Tommy’s murder(and possibly even pulled the trigger himself) while some believeHenry ratted on Tommy. What’s for sure is that Henry Hill betrayed his crew, and the dinner scene might have foreshadowed his, Tommy, and Jimmy’s chaotic fates.
Source:Reddit.
Goodfellas
GoodFellas chronicles the life of Henry Hill, a young Brooklynite with half-Irish, half-Sicilian heritage, as he rises through the ranks of a Mafia family. As he navigates the criminal underworld, he is mentored by seasoned gangster Jimmy Conway amidst the backdrop of organized crime in New York.
