This review has been written on a special demand by my friend Ho-Zay aka Andrew Jose Ignatius Milton.
Year Of Release: 2019
Country: USA
Plotline: –
Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran (Robert de Niro) recounts his life as a WWII soldier and then as a mafia hitman while living his last days in a nursing home.
What I liked about the film: –
There were lots of scepticisms regarding the runtime of this Martin Scorsese feature before and even after its release and to be honest even I delayed my watch simply because of this very reason (you can blame my professional life for that). In this regard, and in many other ways also, The Irishman is a heartfelt reminder of the classic gangster movies that defined the 70s and 80s of Hollywood (including Scorsese’s own classic – Goodfellas) as well as the careers of Robert de Niro and Al Pacino who also star here. In its deftly prolonged runtime of nearly 3.5 hours, the makers and the actors give their all in to bind the viewers into a collective narrative that interestingly jumps back and forth in time spiced with the similar kind of comedy, action, thrill and drama which made its yesteryear counterparts piquantly entertaining.
The performances being the frontline of the film can be claimed as its best aspect along with the direction (Why! Because the acting depends on the direction for 90% of the time!). As mentioned before, de Niro and Pacino are veterans to such kind of films and Joe Pesci even picked up an Oscar for his role in Goodfellas. So, any eulogy of the trio will actually be redundant but let’s give it a try. Al Pacino is spot on as Jimmy Hoffa and given the character’s ruthlessness mingled with humaneness, it’s easy to understand as to why he was chosen to play this role. But what surprises me the most is how natural Pacino is in this suit! Don’t get me wrong, the veteran has done roles like this before but since the 80s, his acting has been largely dramatic and sometimes even overdramatic and seeing him render a boisterous and arrogant persona with such finesse without going overboard is no less delectable. Reminds me of the Pacino in his early years when he played Michael Corleone in Godfather and its sequel! He is arguably the best performer here and in my honest opinion deserved the Oscar more than Brad Pitt did for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. If you have watched Goodfellas and remember the character Tommy, you’d realise Pesci’s take on Russell in The Irishman is the polar opposite of the former and it’s only astounding to see how well his rendition has been. He doesn’t shout, he doesn’t laugh aloud, he doesn’t pick up a fight, all that Tommy would do but he does threaten and he does it subtly like ‘a man who has everything and yet nothing to lose’ would! Pesci, in other words, is simply outstanding and he does that by being a man of few words on the screen. Robert de Niro’s performance revolves a lot around how his character is structured and given him being the narrator as well, it fleshes out in humorously educating terms with respect to the underworld and the political scenario in the country during those times. He is almost perfect like his co-stars but for most of the runtime, he plays as a self-sidelining person much like his character. But once the film enters its final act, de Niro brings out Frank’s emotional side which was camouflaged by his perceptible toughness and ability to adapt, and that’s where he scores the home run coming at par with the then dominating Pacino and Pesci with a visible ease. The Irishman has a very talented ensemble and it’s very difficult to enumerate the performances of each and everyone but apart from the aforementioned three heavyweights, the others simply make sporadic appearances. Although among them, Harvey Keitel (his mere presence is enough) and Stephen Graham do leave a mark.
There’s one thing about Scorsese films and that’s how harmonious each cinematic element is with the other. The production values are par excellence and so are the colour pallets that match both the temper of the sequence as well as the dark grandiose of that time. The visual effects that de-ages most of the actors, is groundbreaking! Rodrigo Prieto’s cinematography is also brilliant which incorporates some of the usual longer takes that the director likes in his features. Thelma Schoonmaker helps Prieto in this through her editing although there are a couple of sharp and abrupt edits which I wonder as to how they made it in. Apart from them, the cuts have been sleek. Screenwriter Steve Zaillian needs no introduction to ardent cinegoers. His rich experience within Hollywood and with the crime drama genre itself explains the intelligence behind the paperwork of The Irishman. The non-linear narrative, the regular jumps in time, the character sketches, the dialogues, and the development of the plot as well the personalities within, all fit well into a riveting bundle of grand cinematic experience of which Zaillian has a great contribution which should have been recognized by the Academy but sadly that’s not the case and we can only feel sorry for this.
My issues with the film: –
Ever wondered about the womenfolk of these mafia families that the mobster genre generally covers? No doubt they all stayed away from action for obvious reasons but imagine the strength required to deal with such tough, hard-hearted and sometimes psychopathic brutes! The women in such families develop their own strong characters as a result of the lives they lead within the criminal syndicate. Not just The Irishman but most mob movies fail to put this out save a few such as Goodfellas, Godfather Series, Scarface, etc. albeit in a limited fashion. This movie did have women whose influence on their husbands or fathers could have been highlighted in a much better manner such as Peggy, Carrie, Irene, Jo Hoffa. Frank’s relationship with his daughters is also shown in a very vague manner as is done with his wives. While the focus has largely been on Peggy, I believe his other daughters could have also added values to both the film’s and the characters’ sentiments. Of all other women in the movie, Jo should have gotten more screentime in order to display her own inherent ruthlessness as well as humane weaknesses. She could have been amongst the central characters in the third act but we never really get to see her strength as a character on the screen which in turn in only hinted by her husband at one point in time.
I absolutely loved the character of Jimmy Hoffa and boy was Pacino fire in it! The makers have shown both his virtues and vices as a human but I did feel as if they were lionising him by softening how he manipulated the system through his power and influences. Talking about influences, it’s portrayed well enough how strongly the mafia controlled politics as well as the unions and there were many characters involved at different points in time. But what the film falls short off is to study this nexus which it compromises in order to focus on its primary characters’ lives and careers. Mobsters like Fat Tony, Tony Pro, Angelo Bruno simply appear and go as they like but the extent of their influence is only talked off but never put out to the audience’s view. But then again, encapsulating so much would have either increased the runtime heavily or would have been achieved at the cost of crucial character developments or plot build-ups. Given the importance of a handful of characters in Frank’s story and the fact that these things can be understood by delving into the dark histories of the urban lives of the United States, I can understand as to why they didn’t make it to the screen. Even if they could, the question would still remain as to Who will bell the cat?
Final Verdict: –
As mentioned earlier, the prominent figures of The Irishman, both on the screen and off it, are not new to the gangster genre and it’s no surprise as to why the film is nearly a cinematic perfection and evidently a masterpiece. I strongly believe it should have been treated better by the awards’ fraternities and should have gotten at least two – Best Supporting Actor for Pacino and Best Adapted Screenplay for Zaillian – if not more. Nevertheless, it’s alike its older contemporaries including those from the bag of Scorsese himself and will be regarded as a modern-day masterpiece in spite of sticking by-the-numbers in its execution.
Movie Freak India 
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