The Irishman

The topic of disputes between trade unions and the government in America of the 1970s is not exactly my cup of tea. However, the pace of the narrative and the eye-catching depiction of the mafia world make The Irishman almost as good as Goodfellas. Moreover, we find ourselves at a much higher level here, among the uppermost ranks of the American mafia of that period. De Niro has the hardest task with an artificially young face with old eyes; it takes some time to get used to the digitalization in the first half of the film. He plays the killer in the traditional way, as we are used to from his similar roles. Pacino is more original, as his portrayal of Hoffa is eccentric, with political enthusiasm, great pride and the morally purest intentions of the whole bunch. He delivers the most striking acting performance of the film. For me, however, the biggest pleasure was watching Pesci, the man behind the curtain deciding who lives and who dies. He has transformed from a knife-wielding apathetic madman (Goodfellas) into a super-powerful player with a talent for mafia chess on whom all sides can rely. He excels in every scene. Keitel gets a minimum of space, but his role is that of one of the most respected bosses of the time. The director adds some of his trademark quirks, which stand out even more on repeat viewing. The top scene, which makes one’s blood run cold, doesn’t have a tense musical background, but is framed by an absurd dialogue about fish. The running time doesn’t seem too long at all, as this “road-movie” is about taking nostalgic pleasure from Marti’s unique style and a legendary constellation of acting performances we won’t ever see again. (11/30/2019)

As much as I love gangster movies, I'm not too happy with Irishman. Martin Scorsese returns to the genre that made him famous and assembles together a cast of mafia legends, but he fails to draw me into the plot at all. I enjoyed the first hour, where Robert De Niro gets into the gangster underworld as an assassin, but once Al Pacino showed up, the film stopped being all that interesting. I was disappointed that there were no shootouts and even the few murders looked pretty unnatural. I wasn't too interested in the plot, the dialogue had nothing to engage me, it's not suspenseful or tense either, so I really don't know where to look for plus points. I'd rather watch Scarface again, but at least I didn't suffer like I did with the new Tarantino film. 6/10. (12/01/2019)

While I was watching it, I felt like I had aged about 10 years. The Irishman really made a perfect gerontocratic impression on me. Normally, American films are tailored to the audience that is willing to come to the movie theater, i.e., the younger generation, while this one targets more so the older folks who have seen Scorsese's mafia classics. Although I like the entire cast, which I hope Scorsese gathered for the last time, I feel like this memorial was no longer necessary. The film is long-winded, artificial, and lacking in refinement. Aside from the unnatural de-aging, which only works partly because the walking and gestures give away a lot, there is nothing explicitly wrong with this film, but at the same time, there is nothing that you haven't already seen in Scorsese's work in a much better form. The positive reviews of the film, at least partially in my opinion, stem from the phenomenon of the "Lifetime Achievement Oscar." I watched the film without enthusiasm and had to abandon it tiredly after 30 minutes the first time. But giving it only two stars would be too little, Scorsese is too good of a filmmaker for that. And even with its insane duration, there are interesting cinematic moments here and there. Overall impression: 50%. (11/14/2020)

There isn’t a more suitable and meaningful ending to one era of directors like Martin Scorsese and actors like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci or Harvey Keitel. It was really nice that all of the above mentioned had a chance to say farewell to the gangster-movie genre with a movie like The Irishman. Nowadays, gangster movies are rare. But as one of the few directors, Martin Scorsese has a patent to such movies, and therefore he precisely knew what he was doing. And of course he pulls you in and doesn’t let go. Still, 209 minutes is 209 minutes. Moreover, same parts are very nostalgic and melancholic, which had to be taken into consideration. The theme is good, but not good enough for me to rate it with 5 stars, as there had been more essential pieces of this genre in the past. Moreover, this movie brought a novelty – digital alteration and rejuvenation of some actors – which takes some getting used to and always makes me lament that it is not possible to stop the flow of time. I really like those actors so for me to see the differences in their appearance wasn’t something I wanted to see. According to my expectations, The Irishman is a good movie. Maybe a bit too classical for a gangster-movie genre with little action and way too long, but it brings you back to the era that all of those who watched The Irishman partly out of nostalgia simply liked. (12/31/2019)

A modern classic? It’s more of a you-wish gesture masterfully timed for the period when Scorsese stirred up a totally anachronistic debate about high and low. The film itself relies on the use of technologies that have been largely brought forth by Disney (Tron 2) and Marvel, and on the robust plan of Zailian's screenplay, which again lavishly beats around the bush, but does not work much with the depth of the characters. De Niro's Sheeran is therefore a static and slowly shifting cruel mountain of CGI flesh, and his picaresque pilgrimage through the history of American trade union-mafia intercourse drags on like an old man. The characters who are age thirty move about like they are eighty and in some ways, this accurately captures the essence of Scorsese's work - this stocky, corrugated professorship that lacks elegance and fun segments, but as a whole functions more like a cinephile fetish and an obelisk worshiping the past. At the same time, however, it fits very well into Netflix's portfolio, where the absence of a strict dramaturgy is confused with a robust creative vision. Martin is too good a director to make a disguised film, but his firm The Irishman is as stimulating as De Niro's face when he fires lead into German prisoners in a miserable, unintentional paraphrase of Call of Duty. For me, it’s on the thin edge of cringe. (12/07/2019)