People always say that you should pick your friends wisely. They help you get through tough times and are there to pick you up when you need it. Need someone to give you a ride to the airport? Well, they may not like it, but hey they're your friend so why not! And, if you're especially lucky, those friends can be more than you think. This means that you now have better protection, more respect, and a growing relationship that only gets stronger, just like a certain Irishman.
The Irishman follows the life of Frank Sheeran who made friends with the right people who held him closely in return. It reveals his connections with them and how they have with him all his life in one of the decade's most expertly crafted films.
It is an epic in every sense of the word, cramming decades of Sheeran's life into three and a half hours. But, not a single second of it is wasted. Every scene adds on to the last, building upon the themes that slowly but ever so satisfyingly appear as the story continues. The pacing makes it feel like the fastest three hours ever thanks to some of the best editing of the year.
The CGI used to de-age the actors to signify this passage of time is something that easily could've been incredibly distracting. Thankfully, it gives Robert De Niro his youth back effortlessly and doesn't distract from the story at all.
Speaking of the actors, The Irishman is superbly acted, with the standouts being the big three advertised for it: De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci.
Robert De Niro's titular role as Frank Sheeran is a marvel (ha!) to witness. He tells the audience of his character's development better than anyone else ever could, as his vulnerability becomes ever more apparent in one of the most heartbreaking characters in a film from the 2010s.
Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are equally plausible and are at their best in years. Pacino portrays the charismatic and ice cream-loving Jimmy Hoffa with more energy than anyone else in the film, energy that becomes increasingly more impatient with its business partners. Pesci's work as Russell Bufalino, on the other hand, is more of the opposite, offering a more restraint character who often steals the moment with the quiet but thunderous impact he leaves the viewer with. Both of them are simply remarkable and deserve the awards recognition that they're likely to receive.
The real star, however, would be the one and only Martin Scorsese in his defining of cinema here. His direction is flawless, giving the film a personality and groove that would be impossible for any other director to replicate. It's perhaps the most personal he has been in his filmmaking ever.
Other aspects of The Irishman are so well done that it is almost unbelievable. The production gone into recreating the era(s) of Sheeran's time is out of this world, with sets and costumes that seem authentic (people who are into cars will love this). The cinematography is also incredibly impactful with countless unforgettable and haunting shots that perfectly tell the story.
The writing that Scorsese and the actors are given to work with is, unsurprisingly, phenomenal as well. It's fully aware of the situation it deals with, offering a strikingly realistic take on it with the seriousness of it all never being downplayed with enough great humor in there as well to ease the pain.
This film is mobster to the core, but it's tackling of the realities of the mafia business are remarkable. It shows just how deep it was through Frank Sheeran. How it got the best of his friends. How it impacted those who weren't even involved with it. How it ate up his life and filled him with regret and loneliness.
The Irishman feels like it was meant to last forever. It's like Scorsese kept watching back to back while in the editing room to make sure that everything was in place. It will easily go down as the film Netflix is best known for and one of the finest cinematic achievements of the decade.....as well as the film that grossed under $3 million with a nearly $160 million budget.
Final Grade: A+
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