The Irishman

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%. (14/11/2020)

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. (30/11/2019)

When, after roughly two hours, The Irishman stops switching between the two narrative lines and three different time planes that together set the film’s rhythm, it becomes clear that the wedding was not actually the primary destination of Frank’s journey. At the same time, one important character from Frank’s past comes into the road-movie framework. Contrary to the custom of accelerating the pace as the end approaches, the film slows down and becomes more focused, no longer engaging in a series of diversions and jumping between numerous people and events. We realise that the memory of a given event is of fundamental importance for Frank and he wants to recount it in as much detail as possible, step by step, minute by minute. Thanks to the context provided by the previous two hours, we concurrently comprehend what this is leading to and what the individual characters are experiencing. We start to understand that Frank had merely been carrying out another one of his missions, which usually ends with a house getting painted. ___ In the first narrative line, Frank is in the final phase of his life, just before his death. In the other, he is heading toward death. It seems that all of the events in his life involve death and dying in some way. The detached approach to killing well demonstrates Scorsese’s departure from the more dynamic style of his earlier mafia films. In The Irishman, violence is not “cool”; sometimes we don’t even see it, we only hear it from a distance. If an upbeat song is playing in the car during one of the murders, that is only because the driver turned on the radio to drown out the death rattle of the strangled victim. ___ Frank's blackened conscience, a reminder of his sins and the incompatibility of violent behaviour with the feeling of having a safe home, is represented by his daughter Peggy, thanks to whom we realise that Frank fills his emotional emptiness with words and diverts attention from his inner self to the outside. Though Frank’s relationship with his daughter may seem to be of secondary importance in the context of a story in which people die, cars explode and mobsters bribe top politicians, it is that relationship which best describes how Frank feels and what he longs for above all else: to go out into the world reconciled with himself and with his loved ones. Despite first appearances, the core of the film thus does not represent Frank’s involvement in the structures of the Italian-American mafia and trade unions, but what he lost due to his career advancement. Civil dialogue and time spent in the family circle appear to be more important than a detailed description of the underworld and a factual depiction of Frank’s work processes. Rather than an epic mafia saga, The Irishman is primarily an intimate drama about dysfunctional relationships and the constant presence of death, the basis of which we always carry within ourselves (as we realise thanks also to digitally rejuvenated acting veterans). 95% (15/01/2021)

An unbelievably complex guide to the life of a person who has outlived everybody and is settling accounts of his life as the end draws near. The crème of the acting profession came together to film the long-postponed project I Heard You Paint Houses, led by the director eminently best suited to the task. Pacino gives a masterful performance as union boss Jimmy Hoffa, but Pesci’s return is a blessing for the entire film. The nuances, the faint hints, the one-liners delivered with zest… This is going to score a lot of Oscars. The digital effects are not perfect, but only seem to do harm to De Niro’s performance. But after a while you stop noticing. It’s such a good story. Definitely the film of the year. I chose us over him. (27/11/2019)

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. (31/12/2019)