Grade: B
The Irishman reunites Martin Scorsese with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, shootouts, and F bombs. At 3 hours and 29 minutes, it is his longest movie, which makes it appropriate for its Netflix home, where people can choose to either binge it or watch in installments. He employs a device which was used to great effect in Bringing Out the Dead, which remains my favorite Martin Scorsese film – and that’s repeating songs on the soundtrack, to see how the same piece of music can underscore a different dramatic beat.
A fairly new development in moviemaking, but sure to quickly become more prevalent, is the use of digital de-aging. It is used extensively here, as well as some digital aging. De Niro goes from looking like he did in Raging Bull to looking like he did in Dirty Grandpa. De Niro and Al Pacino, respectively 75 and 78 at the time of shooting, do amazingly admirable jobs with their physicality and the way they carry themselves in the multiple ages of their characters. De Niro plays Frank Sheeran, a World War II vet turned truck driver who ends up working for Jimmy Hoffa (a scene-stealing Al Pacino).
The narrative structure is a flashback within a flashback, with the first flashback eventually catching up to the beginning and becoming the present day. It reminded me of the dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream sequences in Inception, where in the back of our minds we know we’re two or three degrees removed from the initial storyline. The movie has some funny lines and bits, subtitles pop up that tell us a character’s name and when they died, and occasionally somebody breaks the fourth wall and talks to the camera. It made me think of director Adam McKay’s films Vice and The Big Short, and indeed, The Big Short reminded me of Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. So it’s a game of “Who’s Influencing Who?”
The movie succeeds with the acting. Scorsese and De Niro have worked together so many times over so many years that, by now, they must have the shortest of the shorthand with their professional communication. It is a thrill to see any combination of De Niro, Pesci, Pacino, and Harvey Keitel together on screen, and the supporting cast that includes Ray Romano, Anna Paquin, and Steven Van Zandt is up to the task of supporting these cinematic giants. Where the movie falters is with its length. Any film with this running time can’t help but meander, and this one often likes to linger and dwell. Rather than build up to a big Scorccesean flourish, it quiets down and fizzles our at the end. It’s a close call, but I’m recommending The Irishman because of the opportunity to see a handful of old pros get together and do the kind of thing they do best.
Grade: B
Film Reviews by Mark 
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