"Il Bidone" is the cinematic illustration of the middle-child syndrome, misunderstood and underrated, lost between two masterpieces. But I guess after a movie like "La Strada", the best way for Fellini to handle his immediate worldwide popularity was to surprise, to make something completely different, which, in my opinion, he successfully did. Now, let's go back to "Il Bidone", 'The Swindlers'.
At first sight, "Il Bidone" starts a like the Italian version of "The Sting", it's about three men whose sordid business is swindling. The main character is Augusto, the veteran and leader who, after years of practice, got the expertise but not the spirit anymore. Broderick Crawford, who won an Oscar 6 years before for his gripping performance as Willie Stark in "All the King's Men", carries with his droopy tired-looking eyes, the tormenting weight of an ambiguous guilt. Is he bitter because he ruined people's lives or because he still has to do it when some others retired and are having the great life, like an old colleague, Rinaldo. The ambiguity is crucial to prevent us from falling into the trap and root for any of these guys, remember : pretending to be, is part of their job, so is their trustful look.
Speaking of that, Augusto's second partner is Picasso, played by Richard Basehart who kept something of "La Strada"'s Fool in his performance. Smiling, generous, funny, you'd really believe anything that would come from this young angel-faced father, maybe the only alibi to justify how his wife, Guiletta Masina, in a smaller role, still trusts him. And there's Roberto, Franco Fabrizi, a solidly built blonde guy, whose joviality hides his totally unscrupulous nature, he's the happiest character because contrarily to his partners, he never feels guilty and is ironically the 'sincerest' of the bunch. The trio may look sympathetic but from the audience's view, despite the ingenious creativity displayed in their activities, like dressing up as Vatican clergy to cheat on poor peasants, or pretending to be government workers to take the money from homeless people, there's no comparison with "The Sting"'s con men.
The trio is 'bad people' and Fellini trades all the extravagance and poetry of his previous films to create a powerful social commentary denouncing the inner injustices of the post-War Italian system. The contrast between the setting chosen for the business and the places were it is rewarded highlights this sad reality, I'm speaking of the famous New Year's Eve party in Rinaldo's house, a sequence that shows all the decadence and depravity planted on the ashes of so many burnt lives, and the smoke smell, sadly, doesn't seem to bother anyone. This part has the music, the musicians, the dance, but not Fellini's heart, we're not invited to join but to disdainfully observe the party. There, an interesting episode happens after Roberto steals a golden cigarette pack. Before he leaves, Rinaldo blocks him the way and cordially invites him to give it back, and pretend it was a joke not to lose face. Roberto finally resigns himself, literally spilling his humiliation over Augusto's reputation. But Roberto doesn't care.
The film, somewhere loses its track in the middle, going in many directions when it should have focused on Augusto's character. Is he really losing his touch because he's gaining humanity? When his daughter discussed her future with him, he understands that she needs money. WHile this powerful moment could have enlightened Augusto about the value of earning money, in fact, in his rotten mind, he's already planning to help her, through a con. Providence sends him a warning when he is publicly recognized in front of his daughter, by an ex-victim. He spent some time in jail, and at his release, instead of starting a new life, he wants to end his career with a coup d'éclat, knowing that Roberto already surpassed him and is doing well in Milan. Roberto didn't care of being humiliated, neither did Augusto.
Augusto replays the clergy trick and receives again an ultimate warning when a young peasant's daughter, polio-handicapped since the age of 9, seems smiling, full of life, and thanks God for what she got, unknowing his family is being cheated by men pretending to speak in the name of God. This scene works as an ultimate test for Augusto, to decide if he's got a conscience or not. I almost felt it was God warning Augusto, offering him a last chance of redemption. But Augusto failed, not only did he take the money but also kept it away from his partners, pretending he let it to the family, out of guilt. That's a twist you'd never seen before, and from good, the movie became great. Augusto broke the codes of con men the worst way, because his colleagues would have banned him, but not punished him if he really left the money. We know, he did it for his girl, but this act sealed his status as a miserable man, and the punishment he received was immediate.
And the scene explains the anticlimactic way Picasso left the business, he had a daughter too, and in a way, we see the future he prevented himself from or the past Augusto could have lived. Roberto , with his professional charisma and detachment, would probably become a future Rinaldo. While Augusto, like a martyr of his own condition, cheating on cheaters for selfish purposes, incarnated the total absence of integrity. To play a character like with such poignancy is incredible because we still feel sorry for him, we know there are people worse than him, who won't get punished
"Il Bidone", is an almost Scorsesian examination of a tormented soul totally unable to make up for its sins, annihilating any chance of redemption in a pervert world where the only Robin Hoods steal from the poor to the rich, and ultimately for their own pockets
no room for Fellinian poetry in such a sad, cynical, reality
