Netflix Review - The Irishman (15)

What kind of man makes a call like that...

The Gist: Based on the memoir 'I Heard You Paint Houses', The Irishman explores the later-life career of Frank Sheeran (played by Robert De Niro), a Second World War veteran and delivery driver, recruited by mob boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci). Initially put on driving duties, Frank graduates to carrying out hits ('house painting' is the euphemism), work for which his brand of military service has left him singularly equipped. Then destiny comes calling in the form of Teamster Union boss, the charismatic but corrupt Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). It's the beginning of a beautiful and lucrative friendship, but as an elderly Frank will explain to an unseen interviewer in the care home where he later resides, little in the world of organised crime stays simple...

The Juice: Despite the variety of genre Martin Scorsese has visited in his career - and he's visited a lot of genres - we particularly associate him with gangster movies courtesy of Goodfellas and Casino. So why revisit that world now, nearly twenty-five years on? One reason is a fascinating true story and abiding mystery of 20th century American history - Hoffa's disappearance. But more impotantly this film takes us, through the character of Frank, somewhere that the others couldn't. A place of old-age, contemplation and regret.


The opening acts of this gangster opus bear all the hallmarks of Marty's vintage crime dramas. Expectly choreographed tracking shots, dramatic zooms, tighter-than-tight editing linked to voiceover that powers a complex narrative, along with a vividly realised sense of time and place - it's all present, telling a story that's more sprawling and epic than ever before. And then the panoramic view narrows to a few key players, slowing into long takes that showcase the craft of De Niro, Pesci and Pacino like we haven't seen in years. The former two underplay exquisitely (Pesci never raises his voice, but has never been more deadly), while Pacino supplies the necessary chutzpah for Hoffa. The result is a morally complex tale that explores themes of loyalty and betrayal, but also what happens when a mobster lives long enough for his sins to weigh on his soul.

The Judgement: 9.5/10. Impressive though the movie's much-discussed de-aging technology is, it's the storytelling that impresses. Steve Zaillian (Schindler's List) provides the pithy and thought-provoking screenplay, while the director and his heavyweight cast (look out as well for a great turn by Liverpool's Stephen Graham) bring out all its resonance. This is a tale that begins huge, before turning surprisingly and refreshingly intimate. Rather than a replay of greatest hits, it's an essential final visit to Scorsese's world of wise-guys - one more contemplative and elegiac than we might have expected.