The Irishman review

THE IRISHMAN: 

DE NIRO, PACINO, AND PESCI ARE AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME IN THIS GRIPPING, POIGNANT, AND WITTY RETURN TO CLASSIC SCORSESE FILMMAKING!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

NETFLIX

Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci in The Irishman

            Director Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street) goes back to his gangster movie roots in The Irishman, based on the 2004 book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt chronicling the crime careers of real-life mobsters, Frank Sheeran, Jimmy Hoffa, and Russell Bufalino. The film began development in 2007 shortly after Scorsese and producer and star Robert De Niro (The Godfather: Part II, Taxi Driver, Joker) read Brandt’s book but due to new plot materials added, rewrites of the script, and Scorsese going on to direct Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Silence, it went through development hell until Scorsese confirmed that it would be his next movie after Silence in 2016. 

            So, he and De Niro reunited with frequent collaborators Al Pacino (The Godfather trilogy, Scarface, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Joe Pesci (Lethal Weapon franchise, Home Alone 1 and 2, Casino), brought in some groundbreaking de-aging CG technology, and finally started production on The Irishman. Originally intended to be released theatrically by Paramount Pictures and financed by Mexican production company Fábrica de Cine, but due to the latter studio announcing they wouldn’t be financing it, Paramount dropped the distribution rights until acquired by Netflix. 

            The film was released direct-to-Netflix and was also given a limited theatrical run earning widespread acclaim from critics and audiences. Does The Irishman warrant all the praise that it has gotten or is it an overlong, overrated, 3 ½ hour long slog? Luckily, it isn’t the latter. 

            Don’t get me wrong I was intimidated by the film’s runtime at first and while there are a few times where it can drag, I was completely engrossed in this movie and mesmerized by the absolutely phenomenal acting and masterful direction. It’s one of Scorsese’s best movies and it’s wonderful to see him back in the genre he made so popular in the first place. 

            The film follows Frank Sheeran (De Niro) a World War II veteran recounting his time as a Mafia hitman for the Bufalino crime family. After being accused for theft at his job as a delivery truck driver and refusing to give the judge the names of his customers, union lawyer Bill Bufalino (Ray Romano-Everybody Loves Raymond, Men of a Certain Age, The Big Sick) introduces Frank to his cousin Russell Bufalino (Pesci), the head of a Northeastern Pennsylvania crime family. Sheeran is hired by Bufalino and begins to do jobs for him and befriends the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino) who promotes Frank to be his chief bodyguard. 

            In the present, an older Frank reflects on his most productive hits specifically his involvement in Jimmy Hoffa’s mysterious disappearance in 1975. 

            The film also stars Bobby Cannavale (Will & Grace, Ant-Man 1 and 2, I, Tonya) as Skinny Razor, Anna Paquin (The Piano, Fly Away Home, X-Men franchise) as Peggy Sheeran, Stephen Graham (This is England, Gangs of New York, Rocketman) as Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano, Harvey Keitel (The Last Temptation of Christ, Pulp Fiction, Cop Land) as Angelo Bruno, Stephanie Kurtzuba (The Good Wife, The Wolf of Wall Street, Bad Education (2019)) as Irene Sheeran, Kathrine Narducci (A Bronx Tale, The Sopranos, Jersey Boys) as Carrie Bufalino, Jesse Plemons (Black Mass, Game Night, Vice) as Chuckie O’Brien, Jack Huston (Eastwick, Boardwalk Empire, American Hustle) as Robert Kennedy, Domenick Lombardozzi (The Wire, Public Enemies, Bridge of Spies) as Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno, Paul Herman (Once Upon a Time in America, Cop Land, Silver Linings Playbook) as Whispers D’Tullio, Gary Basaraba (Fried Green Tomatoes, The Last Temptation of Christ, Mad Men) as Frank “Fitz” Fitzsimmons, Marin Ireland (Rachel Getting Married, Sneaky Pete, Hell or High Water) as Dolores Sheeran, Sebastian Maniscalco (Green Book) as “Crazy” Joe Gallo, Aleksa Palladino (Boardwalk Empire, Rogue, Halt and Catch Fire) as Mary Sheeran, and Jennifer Mudge (Boss, Nostalgia, Write When You Get Work) as Maryanne Sheeran. 

            Overall, The Irishman is Martin Scorsese’s long overdue return to gangster films that was well worth the wait and one of his best films in recent years. Everything about it screams “Old School Scorsese Filmmaking” from the production design, music, actors, as well as the narrative and the way it’s told especially when De Niro gives a narration, every time that happened I kept making jokes about The Irishman being the unofficial sequel to Goodfellas (I mean, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci star in it, don’t they?). 

            However, the Goodfellas comparisons pretty much end after the cast and the fact that it’s a gangster movie directed by Martin Scorsese. Tone and story wise they’re very different, Goodfellas was a traditional gangster film where the protagonists lived like kings and nobody could touch them after their violent acts whereas The Irishman is more of a character study focusing on the life of Robert De Niro’s character Frank Sheeran and how he got involved in the mafia and it’s actually quite fascinating and when you really think about it most of this movie focuses on De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci’s characters just sitting around and talking and with a 3 ½ hour runtime you’d think it would get stale and boring, but it doesn’t, the dialogue is well-written and witty when necessary and the three leads give their characters unique and memorable personalities to boot. 

            De Niro as the “Straight Hitman” who is mostly calm and does what he’s told and there are moments where you sympathize with him especially near the end when he tries to patch things up with his daughters, not to mention the de-aging technology is amazing on him and not once did it look fake to me (Gollum has just been knocked out by the Raging Bull!), Pacino as the eccentric wild leader is both funny and intimidating and it looks like he enjoys chewing the scenery, and Pesci as the short, funny guy (and yes Pesci I think you’re funny) obviously doing his usual shtick but it works and it’s wonderful to see him again in a movie after so many years. 

            Whether you’re sitting in a movie theater or streaming the film on Netflix, The Irishman is a gripping, poignant, and at times witty crime epic you will never forget and a welcome return to gangster films for Martin Scorsese. Unlike that other movie that came out earlier this year, a little movie called Avengers: Endgame, The Irishman is definitely cinema…that last part is a joke by the way!