Gotta hand it to Martin Scorsese to work on another mob film based on a memoir. Wiseguy was adapted into Goodfellas back in 1990. That film may be the best mob film ever. The Irishman, adapted from the memoir, I Heard You Paint Houses, follows the story of the guy who claims to have killed union man Jimmy Hoffa. It's good, but it doesn't top a few of the director's other works.
The movie reflects around Frank Sheeran, played by Robert De Niro. A few cuts to his days at his old age, but we see a long chronicle beginning from his days as a driver delivering meat to places in the Northeast. On one of his drives, he meets Russell Bufalino and in one incident, is defended in court by Russell's lawyer cousin, William. Ultimately, Frank starts doing small things for the Bufalino crime family, no questions asked. As time goes on, he becomes involved with Hoffa by joining his union, helping the guy out. It becomes a crazy period as things spiral out of the control of the mobsters.
It feels very much like Goodfellas, but not as ridiculous. In fact, this film doesn't go killing a character every five minutes. They portray Frank as a very loyal person, doing tasks for Russell and trying to make Hoffa appear calm in meetings and in the public eye. The amount of violence is a bit restrained and saved for when it was necessary. De Niro does a great job acting in this film. I found Al Pacino to be a bit over the top with Hoffa. I don't know if it was his choice or not, but the yelling comes off similar to some of his later films. But Joe Pesci as Russell, this might be his best performance ever. Better than Tommy in Goodfellas. He has a strong demeanor. Serious about what he does, serious about being a leader of his crime family. Out of the three actors, I think he should win an Academy Award or Oscar.
The visual effects are very good for making De Niro and Pesci look younger. I was easily impressed with how much they made De Niro look like a 30 year old. As far as other characters go, the acting was strong. The cinematography was through the roof. Its score comprises of how the 50s through the 70s was like. My only concern for some would be the lengthy runtime, which is almost three and a half hours. Some parts did feel a little dragged on, especially some parts in the middle of it. I don't know how much truth there is, since it's hard to figure out what exactly happened to Hoffa. I didn't find Pacino to be that great as him. Passable, though.
If its still playing in the theater, I would give The Irishman a watch unless you have a Netflix subscription. Scorsese was still able to continue his brilliance as a filmmaker. A little weaker, but still a strong enough film with good production and mostly well acted people.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
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