Cere’s review published on Letterboxd:
92/100
HOLY SHIT
There are some times in which you need to watch a specific kind of movie, and when it comes right in front of you, it’s a beautiful sensation. That’s what happened with “The Irishman”, a grim, emotional and moving story of corruption, mistakes, regrets and violence, but also of friendship, and how it can be destroyed in a matter of seconds. This movie deeply resonated with me and, despite its enormous 3 hours and a half runtime not a single minute, not a single shot and not a single line felt unnecessary: everything was there for a reason, and the character development is among the finest I’ve seen in a Scorsese film. Here uncle Marty leaves a testament, the swan song of gangster movies, old man, guns and the consequences of their actions. Though the first part of the film is great, it’s evident that it all is realized to make the last portion of the film even more heart wrenching, and it succeeds perfectly.
Now, going more on the technical side of things, Scorsese’s direction is, obviously, flawless: only he can direct a story like this so masterfully and at the same time personally, avoiding all kinds of virtuosism and just focusing on telling a story, and telling it amazingly well.
On the other hand, the film is also carried by its standout performances: De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, but even Jesse Plemmons, they all give the performance of a lifetime, conveying emotions on the screen in a rarely seen way. Is this the best performance of their entire career? Probably not, but let’s remember these actors have starred in “The Godfather”, “Breaking Bad”, “Goodfellas”, and I could go on forever, and this performance is still among their greatest. The visual effects are also a feast for the eyes: the actors look younger or older than they really are throughout all the film thanks to the innovative and hyper realistic rejuvenating technology provided by Netflix.
The set pieces and the production design are top notch too, and of course Scorsese chose an iconic and nostalgic soundtrack to go along with this tired last gangster story.
A last mention to the astonishing cinematography, since some shots of the film were so beautiful to leave me speechless, and to the perfectly paced editing, other than to the accurate and beautiful costumes.
Now, what do I think about the 10 Oscar nominations but ZERO wins for this gem? Well, that being against Parasite isn’t easy: that is a better film than The Irishman, and so of course I don’t understand how some people say this movie was robbed of the “Best Picture” or the “Best Director” category. Anyways, I think this amazing picture could and should have easily won at least “Best Adapted Screenplay” over JoJo Rabbit (that’s still a really good movie) and “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” for the mesmerizing Al Pacino over Brad Pitt.
Overall, I enjoyed this vulnerable, touching and long gangster epic way more than I thought I would, and this film will probably resonate with me for a long, long time.
Well done Marty, well done