The Irishman (2019)
I remember watching the Academy Awards earlier this year and seeing the first teaser for the Irishman come onto my screen, where that Oscar race wasn't even over the presence of this film could be felt. Since then this film has weighed on this year's award season promising to be a powerhouse of nominations and potential. With Martin Scorsese behind the camera and a cast filled with all-time greats like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci plus a 3 and a half hour runtime this film could not be ignored. As I made the trip to the theater to see this movie as part of the 2019 San Diego International Film Festival I felt the buzz inside of me growing and growing. Finally, I made my way into the theatre and sat down, honestly despite the weight and presence that this movie carried I didn't know what to expect from the movie. Mob films have never been my favorite type of movie and despite initial praise out of its premiere at NYFF, I was honestly a bit scared that it wouldn't connect with me. Though once the lights finally went out and the Netflix logo played I was immediately in awe of what I was seeing. For 3 and a half hours I sat in amazement as I saw I truly consider to me not just a modern epic but a modern masterpiece play out in front of my eyes. As I got home after the screening I had to take a walk around my neighborhood I felt so energized and inspired by what I had seen. The Irishman follows a man named Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro). He is a World War II veteran and now drives trucks transporting meats from butchers to restaurants. Things are going pretty standard and good for Frank but he starts to get involved with the mob eventually rising in its ranks and becoming best friends with Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). This movie follows pretty much his entire life from driving around meat to becoming a head figure in the mob which without getting into spoilers has plenty of highs but also plenty of lows.
I feel the elephant in the room when it comes to this movie is its runtime. Whenever I talk to someone about the film the question of if it really needed to be 3 and a half hours long always seems to find its way into the conversation. There definitely are two sides to this topic, you absolutely feel the runtime. There is no possible way you are going to sit in a theater watching a movie for 210 minutes and not notice that it is long. You are aware as you start to feel about 2 hours into the movie that there is a whole 90 minutes of movie left and there really is no way around that. Yet at least in the theater, it wasn't a negative. This is a huge movie that not only has enough plot to fill this runtime but due to its ideas and the thesis that it builds it really needs to have this heavy passing of time feeling that only can be achieved with a runtime like this. By the end, you feel like you have lived through this man's life and feel exhausted by it which goes perfectly with the themes of the film. I will say that despite loving this movie I don't see myself revisiting it often due to just how exhausting it feels but watching the movie the runtime is valid and is even needed to a point. My only concern is that most won't be viewing this movie in a theater, they will be on their couch watching this on Netflix. It terrifies me and angers me that this film is going onto Netflix as with distractions and pausing the movie I know it is going to lose so much of its impact and weight. This is a movie that needs to be seen in a theater where there are limited distractions and you are forced to ride the wave out. At home, this experience will be lost more than any other movie Netflix has put out which is so frustrating considering how great this movie is when it's given the proper experience.
The acting is obviously really solid in the movie, with such an A-list cast it would be more shocking if they were bad than great. Robert De Niro gives a huge performance filled with so many developing emotions and sides that really get to grow over the course of the film simply because how much of his life we get to see him for, and honestly, one of the best parts of the film is his friendship with Al Pacino's character. If it wasn't for Paddleton I would say this might be the best friendship in film this year. They have such a deep and obvious care for each other and to see that pushed and tested in various ways throughout the film created some of the best and most emotional moments of the movie. Though like I said previously despite their friendship being the main focus of a lot of this movie the overall depth it finds isn't about either of them really. In fact, it's not really about any single piece of the plot at all. This is a movie that looks at a man trying to create the best life for his family that he can and has to live with the consequences of that. This is a movie that explores how you live life and what that life is going to mean to you when you are nearing your death. It questions your morals and values and what that means long term for your life. In a way that I didn't expect at all this movie was so profound and deep with its questions and morals that it leaves the audience with and never really feels the need to push any of them too hard. As you think more and more about this movie you find more and more interesting ideas and meanings in it that push it way beyond nearly any other movie of this genre or subject matter.
The screenplay from Steven Zaillian is obviously one of the main places to praise not just for the depth of the film but how it reads on a surface level also. This is a long film but the script is so fun and dynamic that it never loses the audience. The actual dialogue is all really fun and realistic adding to the character relationships and interactions like the one between Frank and Jimmie that perfectly blends the serious mobster talk with the charismatic humans behind them. The dialogue is also simple enough to where it's not an Olympic sized feat to keep up with what is happening, sure this is a massive film and you are bound to get a bit lost as there are so many characters and dynamics to keep track of but the script always kept it focused enough to where you could understand the basics of what was going down and could get sucked into the scenes quite easily even if you didn't remember every event that led to the scene.
The acting is obviously really solid in the movie, with such an A-list cast it would be more shocking if they were bad than great. Robert De Niro gives a huge performance filled with so many developing emotions and sides that really get to grow over the course of the film simply because how much of his life we get to see him for, and honestly, one of the best parts of the film is his friendship with Al Pacino's character. If it wasn't for Paddleton I would say this might be the best friendship in film this year. They have such a deep and obvious care for each other and to see that pushed and tested in various ways throughout the film created some of the best and most emotional moments of the movie. Though like I said previously despite their friendship being the main focus of a lot of this movie the overall depth it finds isn't about either of them really. In fact, it's not really about any single piece of the plot at all. This is a movie that looks at a man trying to create the best life for his family that he can and has to live with the consequences of that. This is a movie that explores how you live life and what that life is going to mean to you when you are nearing your death. It questions your morals and values and what that means long term for your life. In a way that I didn't expect at all this movie was so profound and deep with its questions and morals that it leaves the audience with and never really feels the need to push any of them too hard. As you think more and more about this movie you find more and more interesting ideas and meanings in it that push it way beyond nearly any other movie of this genre or subject matter.
The screenplay from Steven Zaillian is obviously one of the main places to praise not just for the depth of the film but how it reads on a surface level also. This is a long film but the script is so fun and dynamic that it never loses the audience. The actual dialogue is all really fun and realistic adding to the character relationships and interactions like the one between Frank and Jimmie that perfectly blends the serious mobster talk with the charismatic humans behind them. The dialogue is also simple enough to where it's not an Olympic sized feat to keep up with what is happening, sure this is a massive film and you are bound to get a bit lost as there are so many characters and dynamics to keep track of but the script always kept it focused enough to where you could understand the basics of what was going down and could get sucked into the scenes quite easily even if you didn't remember every event that led to the scene.
From a technical standpoint, the film is also overall really solid. I know especially after some early screenshots of the film were posted I was worried about the visual effects used to de-age the actors and at first, I did feel them quite heavily. There is something really uncanny and offputting about them at first, I couldn't quite tell if the shine was uneven or if it was because they didn't move really naturally with the body but in the very beginning it was definitely a hurdle to get over. I don't know if I just got used to them or if they did get better but after maybe 10-20 minutes with them I honestly stopped noticing them and they didn't bother me for the rest of the film. Where none of these effects are overly incredible I will say they did overall impress me. The cinematography and visual design are all good enough and the costume/production design does really transport you back to this time period despite not having any major set pieces that really stood out on their own. If there was one element to really praise the movie for it would be the editing. Thelma Schoonmaker does a really wonderful job putting this epic film together always keeping the editing dynamic and engaging without being distracted. It is far from easy to edit a film of this size but Schoonmaker really nails it.
Overall I said it earlier and I will say it again, The Irishman is not just a modern epic but a modern masterpiece. Every single piece of this movie is done to such an incredibly talented level that I cannot find a negative in this film. It definitely won't be for everyone, it is long and exhausting which especially when sitting at home on Netflix is not going to be appealing to most. But if you can either go see this film in theaters or really focus on the film at home there is something really special here. It is a deep, emotional, powerful film that explores and adds to conversations in a way that nearly no other film could. There is no other film like this, no other film that has the patience and craft to put this character on this scale which allows the nuanced thoughts and perspectives to emerge. I honestly cannot think of another movie like this that reaches quite as high and is able to hit me in the way this movie did, sure films like Make Way for Tomorrow, Call Me By Your Name, and Paddleton have hit me on a more personal level but this movie has an impact that weighs on you. It doesn't make you cry, it makes you feel it's weight on your soul and won't go away. It doesn't look at one emotion in life like love, it looks at life itself and is a movie that will be different for everyone who watches it and will change each time you watch it. This is a timeless masterpiece in my opinion and I pray it gets the attention and moment that it deserves.
Overall I said it earlier and I will say it again, The Irishman is not just a modern epic but a modern masterpiece. Every single piece of this movie is done to such an incredibly talented level that I cannot find a negative in this film. It definitely won't be for everyone, it is long and exhausting which especially when sitting at home on Netflix is not going to be appealing to most. But if you can either go see this film in theaters or really focus on the film at home there is something really special here. It is a deep, emotional, powerful film that explores and adds to conversations in a way that nearly no other film could. There is no other film like this, no other film that has the patience and craft to put this character on this scale which allows the nuanced thoughts and perspectives to emerge. I honestly cannot think of another movie like this that reaches quite as high and is able to hit me in the way this movie did, sure films like Make Way for Tomorrow, Call Me By Your Name, and Paddleton have hit me on a more personal level but this movie has an impact that weighs on you. It doesn't make you cry, it makes you feel it's weight on your soul and won't go away. It doesn't look at one emotion in life like love, it looks at life itself and is a movie that will be different for everyone who watches it and will change each time you watch it. This is a timeless masterpiece in my opinion and I pray it gets the attention and moment that it deserves.