The Irishman

"The Irishman" aka “I Heard You Paint Houses” was a deceptively simple yet quietly majestic and emotionally meditative gangster/mob epic by Martin Scorsese that deserved to be watched on a large screen and absolutely well-worth the 3.5 hours of my uninterrupted attention. 

Scorsese and writer Steven Zaillian crafted a simple story based on the life of Frank Sheeran, an alleged mafia hitman, that slowly unfolded from the 50s to his eventual death as it traced Sheeran’s rise within the Bufalino crime family. 

The 209 minutes allowed Scorsese to introduce a huge rotating cast and sufficiently develop the emotional beats of Sheeran’s story. And it is to Scorsese’s phenomenal credit that the film never felt it length, as the story moved along at a steady clip before reaching the climatic end that will surprisingly hit you with an unexpected emotional sledgehammer. 

What a great storyteller! 

But, it will all not have been possible without the superb work of the three leading men. 

Joe Pesci was outstanding; a quietly intense, razor sharp performance. 

On the other spectrum, we had Al Pacino who chewed every single scenery he was in, but partnered with Scorsese, Pacino was - at long last again - electrifying, magnetic and deadly charming. 

Lastly, we had Robert De Niro who was the emotional heart of the film and actually the least showy of the three actors. However, his presence anchored the story and allowed the audience to be immersed with him in his journey. This was the De Niro whom we had forgotten was once one of the best actors of his generation. 

Yes, the de-ageing technology was apparent but it definitely was not distracting unless you are very, very familiar with how the actors looked in their youth. “The Irishman” was one of Scorsese’s best film of this century (before “Hugo”, we would have to go all the way back to the 90s with “Goodfellas”, “Cape Fear” and “Casino”), and definitely the best gangster film since “Goodfellas”. 

Totally expect this film to sweep up a bunch of nominations and eventually some awards too. 

I would love “Parasite” and its director Bong Joon-ho to win Best Film and Director, but “The Irishman” and Scorsese really presents a real threat. Try to watch it in a cinema if you can! Or at the very least, do yourself a favour, and set aside 3.5 hours, and watch it at home on a TV.