← All themes

Narrative & Subtext

The idea that sooner or later our sins catch up with us and sooner or later you learn that crime doesn't pay

#MoralConsequences
1 director5 episodesin Themes
Raised byJulio

Martin Scorsese

5 episodes touching this theme
  • Not explored
    King of Comedy

    · raised by Julio

    "You laugh that here crime definitely pays—he becomes a cult celebrity off the stunt."

    Cross-refScarfaceThe GodfatherGoodfellas
  • Strongly explored
    Goodfellas

    · raised by Julio

    "You both grumble at the ‘crime doesn’t pay’ moral, but agree the third act leans hard into it."

    Cross-refThe GodfatherScarfaceA Simple Plan
  • Partially
    The Aviator

    · raised by Julio

    "You read his ‘sins’ more as hubris and neglect that come home to roost in his mental collapse."

    Cross-refThe GodfatherScarfaceA Simple Plan
  • Strongly explored
    The Irishman

    · raised by Julio

    "You frame the whole final stretch—nursing home, estranged daughters—as the bill arriving for a lifetime of sin."

    Cross-refScarfaceThe GodfatherGoodfellas
  • Strongly explored
    Killers of the Flower Moon

    · raised by Julio

    "You talk about the trials as meagre justice, but still read them as sins finally being named."

    Cross-refThe GodfatherScarface