"It Is What It Is"
- The Irishman review by JJ
A magnificent late work from the master of a certain type of American crime film. In a way, it's not difficult to see Robert de Niro's character, sitting in the old people's home reminiscing about a life in crime, as Scorsese reflecting on his life spent documenting that lifestyle from the director's chair.
The film presents the increasingly-visible conflation of big business, big politics and big crime burgeoning in the years after WW2 and in which American life - and by implication Western life - can be seen as ongoing, never ending crime, where everything is shot through from top to bottom with a corruption of people, morality, family, neighbourhoods, industries, societies, nations, going on for generation after generation and unchallengeable all the while because that is just too dangerous to do, as as the dead-eyed, saurian Joe Pesci's bland line "It's what it is" makes clear to the initiated, at least, in one of the film's most chilling and revealing moments.
Technically the ageing processes worked well; there may have been one or two moments when pausing and examining a certain facial expression here or there might have shown things to look a little odd, but who does that? Film is after all an artificial process from start to finish and questions as to ageing are soon forgotten as we get pulled into the quiet, narrative build of the drama. I was watching this in Blu-ray on an HD screen and there were no obvious wrong visual notes.
I hope it isn't Scorsese's last work but if it is, what a way to go out.
7 out of 7 members found this review helpful.
An overlong crime movie that is nevertheless worth watching
- The Irishman review by Philip in Paradiso
This is a crime movie of epic proportions in many respects. It is, ostensibly, about the American Mafia and the truck drivers' trade union, the Teamsters, which was run by Jimmy Hoffa at the time. (The story spans the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.) The central figure is Frank Sheeran (De Niro), an Irishman who is hired by the Mafia as a hitman, and who is somehow seconded to J Hoffa's office. From then on, the focus shifts and the central character is, without a doubt, J Hoffa (Al Pacino). The story is, therefore, that of the downfall of J Hoffa, who disappeared in unexplained circumstances in 1975.
The central thesis of the film is that the Mafia had helped him take control of the Teamsters. When J Hoffa started having delusions of grandeur and wanting to run the union his way, loosening the grip of organized crime, the Mafia decided to get rid of him. Similarly, the Mafia would have helped John Kennedy win the presidential election. In return, it expected to be given the Cuban market back (prostitution and gambling having been key industries controlled by American organized crime in Cuba before the Castro regime) and to be left alone. When neither one nor the other happened, the Mafia bosses felt betrayed and took revenge on J Kennedy.
The film is, really, about loyalty and betrayal among gangsters. Violence is not glamorized as it used to be in 1970s films, but it is normalized, which is also problematical: it is part of the job. Presumably, that is how such gangsters feel, in fact.
All of this is interesting and Al Pacino plays the part of J Hoffa in a convincing, dramatic, and captivating way. But the film has 3 main problems. First of all, it is too long (3 hrs 20 mins). It is never boring and I enjoyed watching it, but the story could have been told in less. Second, the IT wizardry cannot hide the fact that both Al Pacino and De Niro are geriatrics (they are in their 80s, or close). So is Joe Pesci (the Mafia boss). So, you have actors who look like they are in their 50s or early 60s, when they are supposed to be in their 40s, and they move in the stiff way that elderly men move (something no amount of high tech can hide). At any rate, that is how it felt to me. It works, but only up to a point. Third, the lead characters, apart from J Hoffa, lack depth. They do what they do, without qualms, and without regrets. That is fine, but it can leave the viewer indifferent.
In conclusion, it is a good film and I would recommend it, but it has been hyped up beyond the praise it deserves. If you like this kind of crime saga, you will certainly enjoy it.
5 out of 5 members found this review helpful.
It's decent but...
- The Irishman review by WA
More of a contemplation on the inevitability of getting old and death rather than an out and out gangster flick, I thought it kind of dragged towards the end. Some bloody violence and a lengthy development of what was a well telegraphed moral dilemma, but production values were sky high; the period recreation on a par with QT's Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. The young versions of the main protagonists were a bit like watching characters from a console game, kind of off in an odd sort of way - why not just get younger actors to play these roles. I like Scorsese movies but this one is just a bit meh for my tastes.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Highly Recommended
- The Irishman review by GI
Martin Scorsese's return to the gangster genre doesn't disappoint although this isn't the adrenaline rush of Goodfellas (1990) and is a more contemplative story. Robert De Niro is Frank Sheeran, a mob hitman who we first meet as a very old man in a nursing home recounting his life and relationship with mob boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci in a stunning performance) and eventually with notorious union boss Jimmy Hoffa (a typically shouty performance from Al Pacino). Sheeran expresses both regret and conviction in detailing the murders he commits told in various lengthy flashbacks. And length maybe an issue as this is Scorsese's longest film to date coming in at three and a half hours. That might be an issue for some and the film can feel like it's dragging at times. But the weight of the performances and the sudden, shocking violence keeps you watching. The story and disappearance of Hoffa has become almost a mythological issue in the US and this film offers an answer to the mystery and one to which the narrative builds but it's in the subtleties of the film that it's brilliance is to be found, such as Sheeran's relationship with his daughter Peggy (Anna Paquin) who soon sees what her father is and remains coldly distant from him which affects Sheeran deeply and the conflict between Hoffa and Tony Pro (Stephen Graham who exudes restrained violence always ready to explode at any moment). These are moments and scenes which mark this as a major work. This is not Scorsese's best film by any stretch but it's certainly a worthy one and I highly recommend it.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Excellent
- The Irishman review by SG
A great 'old school' film that keeps you watching from beginning to end. Well made, well directed, with a very talented cast. More of this standard please!
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Hoffa Hit
- The Irishman review by NO
Quite good story but rather too long.I had never heard the phrase-Paint houses before only whacks & hits.Both Al & Robert are re ally getting past it to play younger versions
of their characte rs.Didnt explain what happened to the body-it has never been found.Interesting how it showed that in real life what became of the gangsters they nearly all
were murdered.W ellworth watching b ut it should have been cut shorter.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Why?
- The Irishman review by NP
When I ordered this, I was aware of the mixed reviews but being a fan of the director and the cast, I thought it was a must-see.
Well, it still is a must-see I guess but I'm not going to shower it with praise. Superb acting? Should hope so. Excellent direction? Naturally. Cinematography, scenery, attention to detail - yep it's all there in bucketloads.
So what's my issue? Well there are two mainly:
1. No matter how good or expensive your post production is, you just cannot make this cast look half their age, not without asking for a huge suspension of disbelief - it's just too distracting. Choose different actors! Is The Godfather trilogy a lesser body of work because it uses different actors? Of course not. Which brings me to:
2. I cannot understand why an accomplished director like Scorsese felt the need to rip off not only the aforementioned films (one or two scenes are virtually pastiche) but also his own great works.
I can't give it 1 star as that would be insulting but this is certainly not a masterpiece.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
3.5 hour bloated mess.
- The Irishman review by AR
As with most recent Scorsese films there is a genuinely good film in here desperately trying to escape out from underneath a self-indulgent tangle. For starters it’s far too long and drags considerably in some places. Someone also needs to remind Mr Scorsese that in a visual medium you should show rather than tell a story and to therefore cut down on the interminable and uninteresting drawn out dialogue which adds nothing.
There were plot lines and characters thrown in which were dealt with and discarded and never mentioned again which simply added to the length and confused the main story. The jumping about in time was jarring and distracting as were the bizarre little freeze frame title cards that came with the introduction of various minor characters who had no bearing on the plot.
And unfortunately the cast were simply not up to the majority of it. De Niro and Pesci often looked bored and tired while Pacino who did actually manage to add some life simply shouted his way through the whole film. And whoever thought the deaging process was a good idea should’ve been fired on the spot. First of all it didn’t work well and was very dodgy at times but more importantly you cannot use it to alter the way bodies move. De Niro’s movements always looked like an old man’s even when he was supposed to be portraying someone younger which made it look ridiculous especially during fight scenes. Age appropriate actors would’ve been far better.
This could’ve been an excellent film and there were seeds of it in there. The main storyline, when it wasn’t messed about with, was intriguing and De Niro and Pesci were very good when portraying the characters in their later years. Those aspects prevented this from being a one star review.
I cannot fathom why people enjoyed this so much and can only assume it’s because Scorsese’s previous reputation shields him. But Goodfellas essentially covers the same ground and does it far better. Watch that and give this one a miss.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Very good, a lot of believable issues.
- The Irishman review by Joe
Even today Hoffa is still referred to as a gangster. He was a man that believed in the unions, and supported the rights working people. In the USA and elsewhere, when 42 workers and myself were on trial in London, after being attacked by Police outside the Hendon Police Station, after walking 474 miles in a campaign for 'The Right to Work'. We had more support from the Unions in the USA than those in the UK, because the Government at the time (1976), was a Labour Party Government, nurses , teachers and doctors could not find work and even students nurses were losing their job because they passed their exams. The real gangsters were those in government, and many in the UK trade unions, had no interest in anyone but themselves. Even it the USA a real gangster family the Kennedy's were running the country, but they were not constantly being identified as what they were, from Gangster's background, with lots of Gangster friends.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.