The film starts with a scene of the three main characters all in a car together on a deserted road. Henry is driving the car whilst Jimmy sits next to him in the passenger seat with Tommy laying in the back covered in blood. I believe the reason Henry is driving in the first scene is to show us from the start that he represents the ego, he is a combination of both the id and the superego, he is the consciousness within this narrative which is why he narrates the entire story. I believe Jimmy is sitting in the front because Henry identifies most with him, even as a child he idolised him and now he looks up to him as he is a member of the mob that follows the core values, he protects his own, he follows the rules set out by Paul and he has been almost a mentor to Henry. This relates to the idea of a parent, a parent is to their offspring an authority figure, they teach them the morals of the society they live in which in turn helps them form the superego. In this narrative Jimmy is a symbol of the superego, and he forwards his knowledge onto Henry. Tommy on the other hand is the Id, he is sitting in the back of the car as the id lives only in the unconscious, he represents desire and want, since Henry already has what he wants (he wanted to be a gangster) he identifies less with Tommy, however, he does sometimes cloud his judgement. In the first scene where they are all in the car we are able to relate to the characters, it is mundane just like normal life, this is where Scorsese uses a shock reveal of the dead man in the boot, this is when we stop relating, the shot of Jimmy and Tommy finishing off the man in the boot takes us by shock, Jimmy goes for a more clean approach, he shoots the man in order to end his life quickly, Tommy is fuelled by rage therefore he choses to murder the man with a big knife. This reflects the nature of the Id, he doesn't think about his actions he just does what he thinks will make him feel best. Scorsese uses red lighting on a shot of Henry looking into the boot, it is as though he is staring straight into hell itself, this is a symbol of his morality, he has a voice in his head which deciphers right from wrong, in the next shot we watch him close the boot and the most famous narration from the movie says "As far back as I remember I always wanted to be a gangster", this phrase tells us right from the start that Henry achieved his desire fulfilling the nature of the Id.
Henry, the main character in the film represents the ego, he narrates the whole story throughout the movie this shows us that he is in fact the conscious figure throughout this story which relates to the ego as the ego lives in the conscious part of the mind. Throughout the narrative Henry tries to follow all rules set out by Paul, he does what he has to do without question however, we can see that as life gets tougher he starts to look out for himself more than his crew. He delves into a life of drug abuse, he becomes unfaithful to his wife and he snitches on the rest of his crew in order to save his own skin. These events only start to occur as we see Henry's descent into madness, his paranoia had made him lose sight of reality. In the scene where Henry realises he is going to get killed the use of a dolly zoom is used as they are sitting at their table, the use of this technique makes the characters stay the same size but it makes the background look as if it is getting closer, this creates this feeling that the world is closing in on him showing that deep down Henry is scared. The fact he is facing his fear and meeting Jimmy reflects the rational calm nature of the ego. Later on in this scene a freezeframe is used whilst Henry narrates that he knows he is going to get killed, the use of the freezeframe is used to represent Henry's ego, it feels as though time has stopped for him, the clock has ran out of time, he is going to die, the freezeframe captures this moment of dread in which Henry accepts his fate.
Tommy represents the Id in the film, this role stays the same throughout the whole movie, everything he does is based upon his own selfish desires rather than having any care for their society or the rules in place. This can be seen when he beats and murders a "made man" for making fun of his past as a shoe shiner. It is a rule that you cannot kill a "made man" from a rival mob without consulting with Paul first however, Tommy has no regards for the rules therefore, he kills him without any thought. Throughout this scene the use of slow editing creates suspense and tension as the audience see Tommy is visibly getting more aggravated, once Tommy finally lets his Id show through the use of fast, choppy editing is used to reflect the fact that Tommy has took action without thinking about the consequences. The use of low key lighting is used in most scenes featuring Tommy suggesting a sinister atmosphere which reflects the selfish nature of the Id. Another scene in which we see Tommy represented as the Id is when he humiliates and then kills Spider the bartender after he forgets to bring him a drink and them tells him to "go fuck himself". The scene uses low key lighting, there is only one source of light which is on top of the table which they are gambling on, the idea of gambling links to the idea of desires, everyone desires money representing the idea of id, the use of low key lighting in this scene creates a sinister atmosphere, it is as though they are preparing the audience for tommy's actions. The scene depicts the men drinking and smoking further linking to the idea of desire and the symbolism of the id in action.
Jimmy is a character that Henry looked up to throughout the movie without care for his dark side, Henry even narrates his whole introduction in which he tells the audience the many ways in which Jimmy is his favourite criminal he even says the drivers "loved him" they tipped him off whenever they had a good load but the reason Henry loved him is because he was charitable which is made clear from the phrase "of course everybody got a piece". Although Jimmy was a bad guy he looked out for his own reflecting his care for his society. Many believe that the superego is a representation of figures of authority such as parents which has been engrained in our minds, in this scene we see Henry go to court as a teen, the use of close-up shots are used of Jimmy and Henry talking, this is to reinforce the idea that Henry sees him as a authority figure which suggests that Jimmy is a representation of the Superego, he helps teach the boy what is right and wrong. After talking together in the courtroom after they lived all the mobsters gather outside the court to congratulate Henry, a long shot is used to show them all crowded together in a scene reflecting the close-knit culture of their society. Later on in the movie when they hit their biggest heist yet Jimmy becomes very paranoid which is a trait which was transferred onto Henry. Jimmy told everyone not to buy anything however, one bought a new car for his wife, the other bought a fur coat, Jimmy responded to this disregard to the rules by murdering everyone of them that disobeyed in order to make sure they couldn't get caught and squeal on the rest of the crew. Although Jimmy was very paranoid everything he did, he did to restore order and keep the rest of the mob from getting in trouble showing that he still represents the Superego as he is doing what is best for his version of society.
In conclusion, I believe that Goodfellas represents Freudian theories throughout the film which help create an engaging narrative which the audience are able to follow as they as well all have an id, ego and superego therefore they are able to identify with some of the actions seen within the production even if they are slightly exaggerated actions which wouldn't be seen in every day life. Throughout the movie Tommy remained to represent the Id, he is unhinged and has no care for others or society therefore, the only thing that drives him is his own personal desires. I believe this is why he is represented as a single man throughout the movie, as he is ruled by his own Id he doesn't feel the need to get into an emotional relationship as he lacks the regard for other people. Henry represents the ego throughout the movie, I believe this as he is a combination of everything he has learnt from Tommy and Jimmy, he reflects the good and the bad of their society, his desires rule him which is why he is addicted to drugs and lies to Paul however, he shows that he cares about the rule of order and he cares about his family which reflects the superego brought on by Jimmy. Jimmy remains the superego throughout the movie and some may argue by the end it becomes more severe, at the start he would always listen to the rules but by the end he was so strict with the rules that he was willing to kill half the mob just to follow the rules. Although what he is doing is wrong in the eyes of normal society what he does at the end of the movie he did for the right reasons, if he didn't kill the people that refused to follow orders everyone in the mob risked being put in jail or getting whacked therefore, he made the decision which was in the mobs best interest showing how he is respectful of the nature of society to an extent that sends him insane.
Bibliography
Cherry, K. 2019, Freud's Id, Ego and Superego (Online)
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