{"id":8141,"date":"2024-11-11T23:31:33","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T04:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=8141"},"modified":"2024-11-11T23:31:33","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T04:31:33","slug":"the-irishman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/11\/11\/the-irishman\/","title":{"rendered":"The Irishman"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Irishman<\/strong> (2019)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Netflix\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 209 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (pervasive language and strong violence)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Martin Scorsese\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Steven Zaillian\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Robbie Robertson\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 8, 2019 (Philadelphia, PA)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Harvey Keitel, Stephen Graham, Kathrine Narducci, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Anna Paquin, Gary Basaraba, Jesse Plemons, Domenick Lombardozzi, Sebastian Maniscalco, Jeremy Luke, Aleksa Palladino, India Ennenga, J.C. MacKenzie, Larry Romano, Jake Hoffman, Patrick Gallo, Barry Primus, Jack Huston.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $7M (US)\/$8M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: *** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0It would be an oversimplification to refer to Martin Scorsese\u2019s latest Mob-themed drama The Irishman<\/strong> as Oldfellas and I don\u2019t want to do that as it would be doing the film a great injustice. It\u2019s different from anything Scorsese has ever done with one of his gangster dramas. Whereas Goodfellas and Casino are cocaine-fuelled trips through violent gangland territory, The Irishman<\/strong> is more of an elegiac piece with scenes of strong violence. This is especially true in the final half hour, without a doubt one of the finest bits of filmmaking ever to grace the silver screen.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, The Irishman<\/strong> reunites Scorsese with his old friends\/players Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel (sadly underused as Philadelphia mob boss Angelo Bruno) in this fact-based account of the life of Frank Sheeran, a union official, hitman and close associate of mob boss Russell Bufalino. He was one of the very few non-Italians who had close links to high-ranking members of the Mafia. De Niro plays Frank who we first meet as an old man in a retirement home. The film opens with a tracking shot (a signature Scorsese move) that glides slowly through the halls to Frank sitting alone in a wheelchair in his room while The Five Satins\u2019 \u201cIn the Still of the Night\u201d plays on the soundtrack. He begins to speak immediately establishing his role as narrator of his own story, one that places him in close proximity to several significant moments in American history- e.g. the Anastasia hit, the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba, the JFK assassination, etc.- like the Forrest Gump of organized crime.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Irishman<\/strong> spans Frank\u2019s life beginning with his introduction to crime boss Russell Bufalino (Pesci) who takes a liking to him and starts giving him errands which ultimately include murder. The film\u2019s main focus is Frank\u2019s longtime friendship with labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino, The Godfather) who, as you know, famously disappeared in 1975. Frank claims to have killed him on orders from the Mafia after Hoffa became too big of a threat.\u00a0 A road trip to an associate\u2019s wedding in \u201975 serves as a pretext for the Hoffa hit as well as the framing device for the movie\u2019s narrative.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The film also touches on Frank\u2019s personal life; specifically, how his \u201cprofession\u201d affected his relationship with his family especially his daughter Peggy (Paquin, True Blood), a sensitive type who keeps her father and his associates at arm\u2019s length (except Hoffa with whom she becomes close).<\/p>\n

\u00a0It\u2019s in the final half hour or so when The Irishman<\/strong> shifts gears and Scorsese lets you know what he\u2019s really up to. Frank, now an old man, is alone. Most of the people he knew are dead. His remaining family members don\u2019t see him too much. Feds occasionally show up to ask questions about old unsolved Mob-related cases; Frank remains tight-lipped even though the people they ask about are gone. He knows the end is near so he makes arrangements for his own funeral since he can\u2019t rely on anybody else. His sense of aloneness is best expressed in the scene where he tries to tell a young nurse about his friend Hoffa and she\u2019s never heard of him.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Here\u2019s my take-away. Scorsese has reportedly said that The Irishman<\/strong> will be his last Mob-themed movie. In essence, he\u2019s saying goodbye to a genre that has treated him well. At the same time, it\u2019s a goodbye to a way of life. Old school mobsters are pretty much extinct. It\u2019s a new breed of gangster out there. Scorsese beautifully captures the idea of the passing of time with Frank\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

\u00a0At three and a half hours (with NO intermission), The Irishman<\/strong> is a huge commitment and one well worth making. It\u2019s an outstanding film. It\u2019s not as great as Goodfellas, but it ranks right up there. Its only real flaw is not giving the wives enough to do. As you recall, wives played an important role in both Goodfellas and Casino. Lorraine Bracco\u2019s fiery cuckold and Sharon Stone\u2019s gold-digging drug addict were essential parts of the main characters\u2019 narratives. In The Irishman<\/strong>, the wives of Frank and Russell (played respectively by Stephanie Kurtzuba and Kathrine Narducci) literally take a back seat to their husbands. The most we hear of them is Russell\u2019s wife asking him to stop so the ladies can take a smoke break (they smoke a lot).<\/p>\n

\u00a0Many are critical of the de-aging process used to make the actors look younger in the flashback scenes. Okay, the technology still hasn\u2019t been perfected but it\u2019s come a long way since Rogue One. It doesn\u2019t look as creepy; it\u2019s getting there. Speaking of the actors, all of them are phenomenal in The Irishman<\/strong>. This is definitely one of De Niro\u2019s best performances. His character is enigmatic in that he may very well be a sociopath. Murder is just another day on the job for him. A flashback to his time in WWII shows him executing two German soldiers after making them dig their own grave. He does it without emotion. Is this a sign of things to come? If indeed he is a sociopath, are his feelings of loss over his estrangement from Peggy sincere? We simply don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Pesci, in his first role in nine years (after 2010\u2019s Love Ranch), is the most restrained he\u2019s ever been in a Scorsese film. His character is nowhere near as volatile as Tommy DeVito (Goodfellas) or Nicky Santoro (Casino). Pacino, in his first film for Scorsese (can you believe they\u2019ve NEVER worked together before?), is good even though it\u2019s basically Al Pacino playing Hoffa as Al Pacino. He shouts nearly all of his dialogue. I guess it\u2019s a good thing Hoffa had a similarly boisterous personality. The three actors work extremely well with each other. The supporting cast, which includes Ray Romano (as lawyer Bill Bufalino), Bobby Cannavale (as mobster Felix \u201cSkinny Razor\u201d DiTullio), Stephen Graham (as Tony Provenzano) and Gary Basaraba (as Teamsters usurper Frank Fitzsimmons), is uncommonly strong.<\/p>\n

\u00a0On the surface, The Irishman<\/strong> is about Frank Sheeran telling his life story. His reliability as a narrator is questionable. Crime historians claim he was prone to exaggerate his importance in pivotal events. Who knows for sure, right? Thematically, The Irishman<\/strong> is a meditation on sin, loss and regret. It\u2019s as contemplative as his religious-themed pictures- e.g. The Last Temptation of Christ, Kundun and Silence. In other words, it\u2019s deep. As usual, Scorsese deftly shifts between eras using voiceover dialogue to make the time-jumps seamless. In short, The Irishman<\/strong> is an excellent film. Although it\u2019s coming to Netflix at the end of the month (November 27 to be exact), I opted to see it at the movies because Scorsese is worth it. I urge you to do the same. Yes, it\u2019s that good!\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Irishman (2019)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Netflix\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 209 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (pervasive language and strong violence)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Martin Scorsese\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Steven Zaillian\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Robbie Robertson\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 8, 2019 (Philadelphia, PA)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Harvey Keitel, Stephen Graham, Kathrine Narducci, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Anna Paquin, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8308,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dramas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/The-Irishman-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8141"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8310,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8141\/revisions\/8310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}