Christopher Moltisanti

“My whole life I always wanted to be a gangster.” So begins the movie “Goodfellas,” which follows the exploits of gangster Henry Hill as he fulfills his lifelong ambition to join the mob. Christopher Moltisanti has clearly seen this movie, as he has the very same ambition. The writers have a little fun with this at times throughout the show, as Michael Imperioli actually played “Spider” in the movie Goodfellas, who, like Christopher, often struggles for respect in a world of older and wiser mafiosos.

We are introduced to Christopher and his ambitions in the very first episode when he is seen driving an expensive new Lexus, which is perhaps an ambitious purchase considering we then learn he still lives at home with his mother. We see immediately that he looks up to and reveres Tony, and their first scene together involves chasing down and then running over a compulsive gambler who owes Tony a debt. Christopher’s education begins immediately, as he is worried about scuffs on his new car while Tony expects him to engage in beating this man instead.

Christopher’s ambition and bumpy rise throughout the ranks of the Soprano’s crew was at times humorous, incompetent, and terrifying, as he takes the initiative to kill Emil Kolar, who Chris continually refers to as “Email” despite the man’s repeated objections. Chris again mimics something he has seen in mafia movies when he tries to explain his actions as a “message job,” he mistakenly explains as “Louis Brasa sleeps with the fishes.” This is a reference to a line in “The Godfather” meant to be “Luka” Brasi sleeps with the fishes. This won’t be the first time Chris acts without clear orders in an attempt to get ahead, and his bravado and impulsivity are a continual source of irritation to Tony in the show’s first season.

But right away we see that Chris may have some kind of moral compass that could potentially interfere with his budding career. He is haunted in his dreams by his murder victim “email,” and this causes him to dig up his body with Georgie, a bartender who works at the Bada Bing. Tony reacts with outrage at his actions, given the increased exposure this behavior might bring. Chris finds he simply does not meet Tony’s expectations no matter how hard he tries in the first season, and he laments the fact that he still isn’t “made” despite his ongoing efforts to curry favor.

Christopher’s acting out behavior escalates as the season progresses, and he engages in increasingly risky truck hijackings, which facilitates a feud between Tony and his Uncle Junior. Chris and his friend Brendan incur Tony’s wrath at this juncture, and Brendan is eventually executed on Junior’s orders for continuing to flaunt the rules. Christopher is subjected to a mock execution for his role in this incident, and he defecates in his pants as a result of the fear he experienced, which is a continual source of shame for him.

Christopher laments the fact his story has no “arc” following all of these unfortunate events ,and feels his life has no meaning if he can’t fully belong as a member of the Soprano crew. Eventually, his luck turns as he is listed as a Soprano associate in a newspaper article, which is the culmination of a lifelong dream for him that finally gives him a sense of meaning and purpose.

We also learn about the love of Christopher’s life Adriana La Cerva in the first season, and she supports his various endeavors as a screenwriter, music producer, and budding mob associate, despite the fact he shows little aptitude for any of these things. Adriana will be his soul mate, fiancé, and moral compass as their time together progresses, and despite their turbulent relationship, she is the one consistent encouraging force in his life for the next several years.

In later seasons we see that Chris is beginning to move through the ranks of the organization, despite his own best efforts. He opens the second season as a stockbroker (after fraudulently gaining his license) and we are introduced to his bumbling new friends Mathew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte, who look up to him in much the same way he looks up to Tony. A number of misadventures occur between the three of them, and Gismonte eventually shoots Christopher in an attempt to gain favor with Richie Aprile, who is outraged by this and chases him out of his sight. Christopher’s stay in the hospital and eventual recovery results in him being proposed for official membership into the family, as he has now proven his loyalty to Tony’s satisfaction.

We also see Christopher’s return to the movie business in this season, as through a series of meetups he ends up befriending Jon Favreau as well as his assistant Amy (his cousin’s girlfriend.) Through these associations, Chris is able to get a much closer look at the movie business, which is something he has always dreamt about. Much like his foray into the music business, things don’t end well. Favreau betrays his confidence, Amy informs him his script isn’t very good, and he is left feeling betrayed by the whole process, despite his less than honorable actions throughout this episode.

This rejection represents a turning point for Christopher, as he had been pulling further and further away from Tony and his mafia family, which culminates in Tony issuing an ultimatum to Chris as to which life he wants to choose for himself. We see in the end that a resigned Chris has recommitted to Tony and his mafia family, and his dreams of being a movie producer are for now put on hold again.

As the show progresses, we also get an often hilarious glimpse into the budding relationship between Chris and Paulie Walnuts, who is at various times a friend, mentor, supervisor, and primary antagonist in Christopher’s life. At first, we see Paulie take Chris under his wing and provide wisdom and comfort, as evidenced in the scene where Chris laments his lack of a life arc. Paulie offers that he also has no real arc, telling him "I was born, grew up, spent a few years in the army, a few more in the can and here I am, a half a wise guy." Chris seems to find this strangely comforting, and their relationship blossoms from there.

The philosophical conversations between the two of them continue after Chris gets shot, and while in a coma he dreams that he and Tony and Paulie are doomed to spend eternity in hell, where they are forced to spend each night in an Irish bar where they are eventually murdered at 3:00 each night. He awakens with an ominous warning for Paulie about 3:00, and Paulie is at first dismissive, explaining that Chris was not in fact in hell, but in Purgatory. Paulie hilariously calculates the relationship between their sins and the time they will spend in Purgatory, and Chris seems to again accept this idea as a source of comfort.

But things eventually get heated between the two of them, as Chris begins working under Paulie’s direct supervision, which leads to a number of misunderstandings and difficult confrontations. Exploiting a loophole in the new rules about made men, Paulie takes this opportunity to force Chris to disrobe in public, drops by his home in the middle of the night (he sniffs Adriana’s underwear at this point which enrages Chris), and generally make his life difficult with his constant hazing and harassment.

Their relationship reaches a boiling point when they are stuck in the woods together during the episode “Pine Barrens,” which many aficionados consider their favorite episode. Following a botched money pickup, Chris and Paulie attack a Russian associate. Their pursuit of him and subsequent stay in a van when they become lost in the woods leads to a nearly fatal confrontation. Chris pulls a gun on Paulie as a result of their constant bickering, but they eventually make peace and agree to put their difficulties behind them.

The fourth season marks a major turning point for Chris, as he finally avenges his father’s death (at least in his own mind.) His drug use also spirals out of control, and he is made the acting captain of Paulie’s crew while Paulie is in jail on a gun charge. The season also marks an important turning point in the relationship between Chris and Tony. Tony’s desire to eventually hand over the family to Chris is derailed by his ongoing spiral into harder and harder drugs, which culminates in a full-blown heroin addiction. All of these issues come to a spectacular head during a hilarious intervention, which ends up in a violent altercation. During this scene, his frequent nemesis Paulie eventually ends up hitting Chris in the face as a result of his rejection of the intervention material.

The increasingly volatile relationship between Tony and Christopher escalates in the fifth season, when the return of Tony Blundetto relegates him to second fiddle, as the two Tonies are closer in age and appear to have a stronger bond. Despite screwing up repeatedly, Tony continues to reward Tony B with increasing promotions, and Christopher’s resentment of this fact builds throughout the season. When the two Tonies tease Chris about his sobriety Chris appears especially hurt, and a single tear falls from his face when he drives home following this interaction.

Some very key developments also occur with Adriana in this season, as their relationship takes a serious turn when Chris is out of town and Adriana and Tony engage in an ongoing flirtation. This culminates in a serious accident where both Tony and Adriana are injured. The gossip that runs through the family and subsequent fallout regarding the possible sexual nature of their interaction eventually gets back to Chris, who furiously beats Adriana and gets a gun with the intention of killing Tony. Tony and Christopher eventually make their peace over this incident, but their relationship is now permanently strained.

In what marks a fatal turning point to Christopher’s psychological health, Adriana is killed by Silvio after the crew finds out she is an informant for the FBI. Christopher attempts to kill her himself, but he is unable to do so and comes to Tony for assistance. He quickly returns to Heroin use over the loss of Adriana, and will use this pattern to numb the pain of her death for the rest of his existence.

Although Chris eventually finds a woman named Kelly and gets married and has a child, the rest of his life is interspersed with chaotic events. These include multiple relapses, continued affairs with multiple women, and the murder of his friend and former A.A. partner J.T. Dolan when he is unwilling to support Chris through a relapse. Chris eventually meets his death at the hands of Tony himself after a car accident, and this seemed a particularly tragic end given how much he loved and admired Tony as a father figure in his life.

Analysis:

Gender Role Preparation perceived through Gender Guiding Lines and Role Models

From the time we first meet Christopher as a young man, we learn he has some fixed ideas as to what it means to be a man. His father is murdered when he was just a baby, and we know from various scenes that Tony looked after him as a “nephew” from a young age. But it wasn’t all supportive between Tony and Christopher growing up, as we learn that although Tony was a supportive big brother type when they were alone, he would quickly turn into a bully when cousin Tony Blundetto was around. This appeared to leave permanent scars in Christopher’s memory bank. Specifically, he recounts an incident where they left him tied to a fence for several hours during a hunt at Uncle Pat’s farm when he was a young man, which he recounts to Adriana with bitterness and sadness.

Chris took his cues as to how to be a man from stories about his father (who he idolizes as a legendary enforcer), and Tony Soprano, who he looks up to and admires through most of his life. One firm idea he has is a man does not allow himself to be disrespected by another man, as throughout the series he attacks others when provoked, including Yo-Yo Mendez, a drug dealer who owes him money, as well as attempted altercations with Vito, Patsi, and of course Paulie when he feels they are disrespecting him.

Perhaps one of the most telling narratives of Christopher’s life was his desire to avenge his father’s murder, which he reported was something that had been haunting him since he was a child. Given his own understanding of his father’s legacy, he felt this job was his and his alone to accomplish, and Tony manipulates this desire by helping Chris believe he has finally achieved this goal.

Interpersonal Style perceived through Experience of Family Atmosphere

It is important to consider how large of role Christopher’s addictive behavior played in his eventual demise, as this was a part of his family atmosphere since he was a young man. At one point he tells Tony, "Let's be honest about the great Dickie Moltisanti--my dad, your hero--wasn't much more than a fucking junkie.” And of course, his mother Joanne is shown as a serious alcoholic throughout the entire series.

Having two parents who were addicts would certainly increase Christopher’s chances of becoming an addict himself from both a genetic as well as psychological perspective, and this appears to be the case with Chris. At one point he buys a huge new home and explains to his friend Corky, “There were times, I was a kid, my friend Ronnie, we'd play on the floor of my kitchen-- linoleum, matchbox cars or whatever. He'd go home, his knees would be filthy, his elbows-- she never cleaned, my mother. Our house was a pigsty. Ronnie's mother made him stop coming over it was so dirty. That’s fucked up! Embarrassing! My kid, it'll be different. He'll be proud of his house.”

Moments later he is snorting the Heroin he brought as payment for his friend. This scene perfectly illustrates Christopher’s inability to resist addictive substances. As although he was able to clearly reflect on the good things in his life, he couldn’t even for a moment resist the urge of Heroin, despite the ongoing terrible consequences in his life as a result of his drug use.

Personal Code of Conduct Perceived through Acceptance / Rejection of Family Values

Most children at some point develop an understanding of what the family values are. In Christopher’s case, this involved both the values of his actual family and his larger mafia family, which were closely tied together throughout his life. Chris doesn’t just “accept” the family values, but embraces them so wholeheartedly that he at one point tells Adriana “That’s the man I’m going to hell for” in relation to Tony Soprano. He would literally burn in hell for eternity rather than disappoint Tony, and this reveals a great deal about the forces that motivate him.

There are many other examples of this, particularly in the early seasons. Chris offers to immediately come up to New York to whack a famous rat Tony has identified, as he believes this will put him “a cunt hair from being made.” His incredible pride at being named in the newspaper with the other Soprano family members also shows his dedication. He is truly a man fixated on finding a sense of belonging in his larger identified “family.”

Although Chris is almost religiously devoted to the mafia family and the values of La Cosa Nostra, his faith does waver at times throughout the series when he feels he is being held to a different standard than others. One example of this comes when Tony refuses to order the death of Jackie Aprile Jr. after he shoots at him and Furio, which causes a furious Chris to tell Tony, “You’re a fucking hypocrite. You preach all this wiseguy shit and meanwhile the only ones who gotta play by the rules are us. I loved you!”

And this crack widens even more as time progresses when Chris even contemplates becoming a rat, a development that would have been unheard of in the first couple of seasons given his devotion and dedication to the family. After being mocked repeatedly at a Bada Bing party, Chris comes to the home of his old A.A. friend J.T. Dolan and informs him that he could turn informant and move to Arizona, as he knew significant amounts of information about various criminal activities (which he surely does). J.T.’s horrified reaction to this confession results in him bluntly telling Chris “You’re in the mafia,” which seems to snap Chris back to reality just long enough to pull out his gun and murder his former friend.

Christopher’s rejection of the family values leads him to make decisions that continue to put distance between him and Tony, and by the final season, we see Tony hang up on Christopher in disgust when he calls to wish him a happy birthday. Later Tony implies to Bobby that he no longer has faith in Christopher as a potential leader, and how he was now thinking about Bobby in this regard instead.

Which brings us to the final scene between Tony and Chris, when Chris is back on Heroin and driving erratically following an important meeting with Phil Leotardo. Christopher flips the car as a result of his inattention and drug use, and after confessing this, we see that Tony has finally made the decision to permanently end Christopher’s life as a result of his ongoing insubordination and impulsive behavior.

Conclusion

Christopher’s life seemed to follow what transactional psychologists would refer to as a “tragic life script,” as the narrative of his life seemed to be on a crash course with a tragic ending since his early childhood. His father’s early murder was not a deterrent to violent behavior, but instead was a precursor to a life based on violence, revenge, and anti-social behavior.

Christopher’s admiration for Tony Soprano from an early age must have also been a powerful narrative for him to follow, as seeing an older relative rise through the ranks to become rich and powerful must have been an influential story that continued to inspire him. Although Tony discouraged both Jackie Jr. and his own son Anthony from entering into the mafia lifestyle, with Christopher he actively encouraged his involvement and even provided opportunities for deeper involvement.