VictorMartin’s review published on Letterboxd:
A reflection of one's past, and the people and situations that make a person who they are.
Scorsese has brought us a very mature and thoughtful mob film. It's not as exciting as maybe he would've done in the past (Goodfellas), and it is quite a slow film; but the great thing is though, those things don't matter.
He's not here to get our blood pumping and to hit us with the ol' razzle dazzle. But goodness he does it anyways and I love him for it.
Martin is an old man. He's seen a lot. He's made many films throughout his career. It makes sense for someone like him to get a little introspective in his later work. Look at Silence for goodness sake.
It isn't any different for The Irishman, a film more interested in relationships and the pain and suffering the mob lifestyle has on those that are within reach. To me, that's a plus. I am all in for character reflection and complicated pasts... and thankfully Scorsese NAILS it. But is anyone really surprised?
What I didn't expect though is for how melancholic this would end up being. Sure, I guess it shouldn't be too surprising considering, but wow... lets just say if I wasn't in a large audience watching this.. I would've done a much bigger cry.
De Niro and the rest of the cast are so so so good. Pesci, Pacino... just perfect. The de-aging tech that's used is a little strange when it first appears, but it blends together very well with the rest of the timeline that it was hard to notice when it was not being used at certain points.
People die, people lose. The truth doesn't matter when everyone's gone.
Repent and hope that your love ones will forgive you for what you did wrong.
Overall, marvelous work. Scorsese & company... BRAVO. To be honest, I wouldn’t have minded if it was longer too. I love where it ended. My heart was beating quick because I was thinking to myself, “oh no stop this is straining my heart.” But tbh this is the quickest 3hr 30min I’ve ever had the pleasure of sitting through.