The Irishman (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Robert DeNiro! Al Pacino! Joe Pesci (dragged out of retirement)! All three acting titans rivet in Martin Scorsese's (!) new 3.5 hour long(!) mob magnum opus, 'The Irishman'. To say that my excitement level for this was off-the-charts is an understatement. Based on the book "I Heard You Paint Houses", Scorsese introduces Frank Sheeran (DeNiro) the Irishman, as an old, ailing man in a nursing home, and allows him to guide us through the story of his rise from a WWII vet & meat delivery man to a protected member of the mob. Before long, Frank nabs the attention of Philadelphia crime boss, Russell Bufalino (Pesci). Frank & Russell form a great partnership, especially once Frank starts 'painting houses' for him, a euphemism for whacking people.
Russell appreciates Frank's loyalty & requests that he become a soldier for Teamsters Union Pres. Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino). Frank & Hoffa grow close; leading to the former becoming a local union president. But then Hoffa gets imprisoned by the Feds. After his confinement, Hoffa is hell bent on regaining presidency of the Teamsters, but the Powers the Be {Pesci & others} have other ideas. And the more Hoffa pushes, the more apparent it becomes that his number may be up soon enough. Though it has never been proven, screenwriter Steven Zaillian follows the premise that at the end of his woeful life, Frank Sheeran confessed that he was 'responsible' for killing Hoffa on 7/30/1975. See, Sheeran always justified his murderous actions by believing he was supporting his family. But his daughter, Peggy (Anna Paquin as an adult), had been all-too-aware of who her father was; which lead to a crippling lifelong estrangement that Frank only grasped too late.
Like Scorsese's other classics, such as Goodfellas & Casino, 'The Irishman' uses voice-over narration throughout. This film starts a liiiittle slow, but grows in interest; and from the midway point on, is a full throttled, engrossing, fascinating expose of the cruelty of a world that most of us can't fathom. It is simply a brotherhood of killers; men who don't think twice about carrying out their grisly orders. Frank never hesitates; though, when it comes to the demise of his dear friend, Hoffa ... 'an order is an order' took on a deeper, harsher meaning. Russell had pointed out to Frank: hey, Hoffa was warned. And the work DeNiro & Pacino do in the scenes leading up to the death is an example of quietly scintillating acting -- brilliantly tense.
Much has been made about the visual effect reverse-aging done on DeNiro, Pacino & Pesci to make them look roughly 30 yrs. younger at points {the film spans a good 50 yrs. from start to end}. Sure, I noticed some tinkering with eyes, a smoothed-out face, here or there; but I wasn't paying much attention because I was entranced by the performances. On the flip side, to make the characters older, some great old-age make-up was used. Scorsese employed a top-notch team to make the costumes & detailed production design {through the decades} looks authentic. Rodrigo Prieto lends stellar cinematography. And Scorsese's long-time editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, does well to keep the pacing as exacting as possible through the film's 209 minutes.
Though DeNiro is not his usual charismatic self in this role - more of a reactive onlooker for spurts - he is absolutely the anchor of this film. In the final hour, he rivets as horrible thing after horrible thing happens. All he has to do is stop & stare for a moment and we absorb every heavy-hearted thing he is thinking & feeling. Two brilliant moments from him: 1) in the back seat of a car. And 2) a frenzied, bumbling phone call to a woman named Jo. He & Pacino share many memorable scenes together and, the ebb & flow of their chemistry is simply magical -- everything we could have wanted from these two greats sharing the screen. I'm reminded of a fateful back-&-forth they engage in at Frank's big Roast party near the end -- I watched in awe.
Pacino lends great bombast as egocentric, uncompromising-to-a-fault Hoffa. But boy, can he tone it down & make you feel something significant & even guttural with the smallest of gestures or throwaway lines of dialogue -- he's amazing. And perhaps best of all is Pesci; who mesmerizes in a role that goes against the flamboyant, profane grain we're accustomed to from him. He may be a mob head, but the performance is understated; a performance of quiet malice, yet also surprising introspection. I leaned forward every time to see how his manipulative mind worked. And I enjoyed supporting turns from Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, Ray Romano & Stephen Graham {as pint-sized, combustible "Tony Pro", one of Hoffa's hatemongers}.
This film lacks the crackling energy of Scorsese's earlier classics. But that is because, dispersed among bursts of violence, at its core, this is really a melancholy tale of a man looking back at the irreparable choices that defined his life & relationships. At 3.5 hours in length, Scorsese gets a little self-indulgent, but he takes his time unfurling the story so as to let the audience reflect on every event, {large or mundane}, every meaningful glance & word. Speaking of words, the script is full of connotative dialogue; like a code of speaking understood only by members of a club of killers. I so admire what Scorsese accomplished here. His love of the genre jumps off the screen. His actors pull us through. I sat in reverence, and can't wait to watch it again.
Russell appreciates Frank's loyalty & requests that he become a soldier for Teamsters Union Pres. Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino). Frank & Hoffa grow close; leading to the former becoming a local union president. But then Hoffa gets imprisoned by the Feds. After his confinement, Hoffa is hell bent on regaining presidency of the Teamsters, but the Powers the Be {Pesci & others} have other ideas. And the more Hoffa pushes, the more apparent it becomes that his number may be up soon enough. Though it has never been proven, screenwriter Steven Zaillian follows the premise that at the end of his woeful life, Frank Sheeran confessed that he was 'responsible' for killing Hoffa on 7/30/1975. See, Sheeran always justified his murderous actions by believing he was supporting his family. But his daughter, Peggy (Anna Paquin as an adult), had been all-too-aware of who her father was; which lead to a crippling lifelong estrangement that Frank only grasped too late.
Like Scorsese's other classics, such as Goodfellas & Casino, 'The Irishman' uses voice-over narration throughout. This film starts a liiiittle slow, but grows in interest; and from the midway point on, is a full throttled, engrossing, fascinating expose of the cruelty of a world that most of us can't fathom. It is simply a brotherhood of killers; men who don't think twice about carrying out their grisly orders. Frank never hesitates; though, when it comes to the demise of his dear friend, Hoffa ... 'an order is an order' took on a deeper, harsher meaning. Russell had pointed out to Frank: hey, Hoffa was warned. And the work DeNiro & Pacino do in the scenes leading up to the death is an example of quietly scintillating acting -- brilliantly tense.
Much has been made about the visual effect reverse-aging done on DeNiro, Pacino & Pesci to make them look roughly 30 yrs. younger at points {the film spans a good 50 yrs. from start to end}. Sure, I noticed some tinkering with eyes, a smoothed-out face, here or there; but I wasn't paying much attention because I was entranced by the performances. On the flip side, to make the characters older, some great old-age make-up was used. Scorsese employed a top-notch team to make the costumes & detailed production design {through the decades} looks authentic. Rodrigo Prieto lends stellar cinematography. And Scorsese's long-time editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, does well to keep the pacing as exacting as possible through the film's 209 minutes.
Though DeNiro is not his usual charismatic self in this role - more of a reactive onlooker for spurts - he is absolutely the anchor of this film. In the final hour, he rivets as horrible thing after horrible thing happens. All he has to do is stop & stare for a moment and we absorb every heavy-hearted thing he is thinking & feeling. Two brilliant moments from him: 1) in the back seat of a car. And 2) a frenzied, bumbling phone call to a woman named Jo. He & Pacino share many memorable scenes together and, the ebb & flow of their chemistry is simply magical -- everything we could have wanted from these two greats sharing the screen. I'm reminded of a fateful back-&-forth they engage in at Frank's big Roast party near the end -- I watched in awe.
Pacino lends great bombast as egocentric, uncompromising-to-a-fault Hoffa. But boy, can he tone it down & make you feel something significant & even guttural with the smallest of gestures or throwaway lines of dialogue -- he's amazing. And perhaps best of all is Pesci; who mesmerizes in a role that goes against the flamboyant, profane grain we're accustomed to from him. He may be a mob head, but the performance is understated; a performance of quiet malice, yet also surprising introspection. I leaned forward every time to see how his manipulative mind worked. And I enjoyed supporting turns from Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, Ray Romano & Stephen Graham {as pint-sized, combustible "Tony Pro", one of Hoffa's hatemongers}.
This film lacks the crackling energy of Scorsese's earlier classics. But that is because, dispersed among bursts of violence, at its core, this is really a melancholy tale of a man looking back at the irreparable choices that defined his life & relationships. At 3.5 hours in length, Scorsese gets a little self-indulgent, but he takes his time unfurling the story so as to let the audience reflect on every event, {large or mundane}, every meaningful glance & word. Speaking of words, the script is full of connotative dialogue; like a code of speaking understood only by members of a club of killers. I so admire what Scorsese accomplished here. His love of the genre jumps off the screen. His actors pull us through. I sat in reverence, and can't wait to watch it again.