Review: The Irishman (2019)

Let's talk about Martin Scorsese.

Nearly 45 years ago in 1976, Scorsese gave us Taxi Driver, a film which perfectly encapsulated the malaise that consumed the urban expanses of America at the time. Some might have taken the wrong message from its portrayal of the insanity-consumed protagonist played by Robert de Niro, but it's an important film for all the right reasons, and is arguably creeping back into relevance. Since then, Scorsese has produced his share of further classics like Goodfellas and in more recent years, the Wolf of Wall Street and the Catholic-themed Silence--but more recently, he's been put in the spotlight for some of his comments on the currently all-popular superhero genre.

It's true he might be casting too wide a net, especially with those films sometimes producing direct homages to him lately, but at the same time, consider what must be the frustrations of an old-school filmmaker like him as giants like Disney force what were once your standard between-blockbuster cinematic outings onto streaming services in favor of continual cycles of mega-flicks. And let's face it, Netflix movies aren't exactly always a mark of pedigree. Either way, I did manage to catch his latest film on the big screen, so let's judge it the way it was intended--it's The Irishman.

I did go in as blind as I could, so I was taken a bit unawares by the film's incredible running length, which is over three hours (ironically giving it something in common with a recent superhero extravaganza). In any case, at first, it doesn't feel that long, as we get introduced via flashbacks within flashbacks to De Niro's Frank Sheeran, a WW2 vet turned truck driver, who by sheer chance gets pulled into the Mob. The film's budget is far higher than you'd think, a lot of it going on de-ageing some of the actors, but Scorsese gives us every scummy detail of Frank's past and his rise through the ranks, alongside Joe Pesci's Russel Bufalino. There's a bit of Goodfellas in there sure, but things do get more interesting and even more entertaining once Frank starts getting connected with 60s-era union 'representative' Jimmy Hoffa, played by the one and only Al Pacino.

The film definitely carries the wiseguy attitude as a whole alongside of course the characters--slightly irreverent at times, and not afraid to make fun of the Mafia as a whole. Pacino, when he gets on, basically takes over completely, and when you're talking about the pedigree of the actors involved here, that's no mean feat even for him. You've got lots of historical connections for those interested in that, from the Kennedy connections to even the Bay of Pigs, which Frank unwittingly proves key to for a scene.

However, nearer the last third, we start to run into my problems with the film--and that's, well, anyone who's heard Jimmy Hoffa's name at least vaguely knows what happened to him. It starts to feel a little drawn out once all the flashbacks and time periods get connected together and we start leading up to the inevitable--and once Pacino is out of the film, it takes more time with the customary criminal fall from grace. All of it serves purpose, of course, but your butt will be aching at this point once it's clear where things are going. That being said, the final scenes and shots that conclude Frank's life, with glory days long past him, do make for a memorable and sobering coda which I liked a lot. 

Overall, The Irishman has lots of top-notch and entertaining actors from everyone like Ray Romano to Harvey Keitel, but is just a little too long for its own good for me. You might even be forgiven for going straight for the Netflix option where you can control your bathroom breaks. Still, while it does follow some of Scorsese's old ground, it is a magnificently-cast epic that goes all on in, and if you've a hankering for a modern mob flick, this one's from the old school in a good way.