The Irishman

The Irishman (2019)

96% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 301 reviews)

Runtime: 209 minutes, although it did not feel that long

Directed by: A guy who I agree with when it comes to his superhero movie comments

Starring: A great cast


From: Netflix

Yep, I got to see this theatrically and it's one of the best movies of 2019: 

On other corners of the Internet I have carped about the stresses of living in Florida, from the traffic to all the stupid people that live or visit the state, the incompetence of too many businesses, etc. All that said, there is the benefit of there being dozens of movie theatres in the central region of Florida alone so there were several locations that were playing this despite the movie not being booked at any of the major chains. For me it wouldn't be the same viewing this on a laptop screen or even having it play on the TV via an app on the Blu-ray player; the fact that much of what they have on Netflix is not too appealing to my interests (and their layout seems to become worse and worse each time I subscribe for a month) meant that it was worth making the drive and spending the night viewing something of epic length.

Thank heavens this was a movie I have no regrets about seeing, & its epic length was not to The Irishman's detriment. I've never read Charles Brandt's book I've Heard You've Paint Houses but before I saw the movie I did hear a few things concerning the life of Frank Sheeran, who claimed late in life to be a Mafia hitman and was the person who murdered Jimmy Hoffa. Who knows for certain if everything portrayed in the film was accurate to the truth, but it was a hell of a yarn and it just seemed appropriate that it would have such a director and main cast. For me it was a big draw to see De Niro and Pacino in multiple scenes together and the movie be great (unlike Righteous Kill, which I did see theatrically also), not to mention Joe Pesci back on the big screen after all that time. Thankfully, except for a moment or two, the de-aging effect is convincing & I was happy to see all those old faces in scenes where they appear to be a bit younger.

As others have accurately noted, this is starkly different from Goodfellas despite the presence of Scorsese, De Niro and Pesci. That-one of my personal favorites-is loud and excessive as Henry Hill had a lavish lifestyle for awhile & the main players lived pretty well in their positions, not to mention the general pace being pretty fast. This is the other side of the coin as the movie takes it time & there are plenty of quiet, contemplative moments; furthermore, there are plenty of disagreements and feuding between various people in the Mafia & those in the periphery of those individuals. Hoffa was a loose cannon and he stirred up so much trouble, it does seem clear that organized crime had him silenced, permanently. There are many theories as to who ended his life or where he was buried; a popular canard is that it was under a sports stadium in New Jersey but that likely is poppycock. Anyway, I do mention the movie is subdued, yet there are still over the top moments and this includes moments w/ Pacino engaging in much yelling. Thankfully that role doesn't have Old Al constantly at 11, as seems to typically be the case in recent history.

I don't even need to elaborate on the excellence of the direction, editing or music choices. Nor will I say too much else of the story considering many still haven't had the chance to see this as of the time the review is posted and it will be on Netflix itself come tomorrow. However, I do have to bring up a kerfuffle spotted on Twitter right before I made the drive yesterday to check this out. To be honest, it was only at this time that I heard Anna Paquin was in The Irishman, and some were not happy she hardly had any dialogue in her limited role, and compared it to Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate. After seeing the movie, it is not an apples to apples comparison.

Unfortunately, Robbie's role in QT's latest seemed superfluous and a waste of Margot's talents, although she did her best with her role. Here, Paquin played one of De Niro's daughters and while wishing for more of this subplot is a valid criticism, she delivered a quality performance in her few scenes just from her stating her negative opinions of her father's life nonverbally... as I stated, not a fair comparison. Of course, I'd be happy with both of those talented actresses receiving plenty of high profile roles in the future.

I do not wish to belabor the point I've made recently concerning the overall poor quality of movies this year; this not being disappointing and in fact would be my movie of 2019 if not for Parasite... those two would rank very highly on lists I have or would do when it comes to the best of any year in the 21st century. No matter your take on Scorsese's dismissal of comic book pictures, it is a testament to him that in his late 70's he can still craft a piece of work so gripping and so noteworthy... and also something that has to be self-reflective, a meditation on several individuals dealing with the twilight of their lives.