The Irishman (preview)
THE IRISHMAN - Netflix
The Irishman has been a long-gestating passion project between director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro since the mid-2000s. Scorsese's latest is not only a reunion between the director and his acting muse since their collaboration on Casino in 1995, but the NETFLIX released gangster epic also stands as a first-time collaboration between Scorsese and acting giant Al Pacino. Not only does it boast the inclusion of long-standing partnerships with the addition of Harvey Keitel and the first role since 2010 for Oscar-Winning actor Joe Pesci, who allegedly politely refused the part of crime boss Russell Bufalino over fifty times.
The Irishman - Scorsese's twenty-sixth feature film - is the critically acclaimed directors' very own career-defining Godfather. Not only a contextually similar story but a film that will define the genre for decades to come. Scorsese's film is a fitting career culmination of every small detail of tone and impact layered with poignancy, aggression and weight throughout the director's sixty years behind the camera. The film, based off of the book 'I Paint Houses' by author Charles Brandt, is undeniably a gangster epic in its own right; however, Scorsese's latest film is nothing short of a masterpiece in far more ways than one.
Tonally and stylistically, it stands as an incredibly distinctive feature for the infamous director to craft. Gone is the stylish and slick aggressive dialogue and the contemporary usage of Scorsese's auteurist style, what remains is a slow, moving and weighted portrayal of grief and acceptance of the past. This is not the ride of glitz and glamour of which Casino or Goodfellas follows; The Irishman takes a different path of exploring pain - pain from the past and conscious exploration of its slow degradation of the mind and body. It is not a glib dull affair whatsoever either, even with a more methodical and existential approach taken.
Scorsese injects fire and fury in every scene with a moving sense of emotional resonation in every sequence that demands it. The weight and layers found here are beautifully evoked from sole writer Steven Zaillian who adapts the material from Brandt's book efficiently and effectively with a profound stability of edge and heart. It is undeniably the draw of the performances that is the film's most significant pull. The Irishman's cast list puts any ensemble piece to shame, and it is one that viewers will perhaps never see on screen again with this much prowess and ability on show.
Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa has the Academy Award for Leading Actor in his hands as we speak. An incredible and astonishing turn from the veteran actor, one that echoes the very stunning performances from the Oscar winner that brought him notoriety in the 70s and 80s for his ability. His creation of Hoffa is one that sizzles with anticipation of talent. Not one scene in which Pacino is involved feels wasted or tame. The actor brings sizeable presence and charisma that engages the audience in a hypnotic and intoxicating fashion. Robert De Niro as the titular character Frank Sheeran is not too far behind him with a spellbinding performance filled with the film's most influential and emotional conviction that results in a compelling performance. His role stretches a staggering six decades for the actor to achieve of which De Niro convicts in effortless, captivating style. Even when De Niro is acting the part in the characters thirties, he conveys the role perfectly. Notwithstanding, both De Niro and Pacino struggle to shrug off that inevitable older man shuffle that they can not entirely escape.
The supporting cast is equally effective. Keitel as Angelo Bruno is one with more limited screentime out of the bunch, but he undeniably can still cause a stir through his screen presence alone and black piercing eyes that look straight into the soul of the audience. Bobby Cannavale, Stephen Graham, Jesse Plemons, and Anna Paquin all craft perfectly subtle yet effective ranges of character in their respective roles. Paquin is the most integral for emotional instigation and narrative purposes but unfortunately is a drastically underutilised component - partly due to the sheer volume of characters needing arcs but possibly due to material that will not provide her character with the answers audiences want in a world so rich with cruelty.
That being said, it is the performance from Pesci, his first in a staggering nine years after Love Ranch in 2010, that causes the biggest stir. For an actor who has taken a ten-year break from his craft, Pesci puts forward a tremendous performance that would convince ninety-nine per cent of people he never semi-retired in the first place. Pesci effortlessly provides a captivating and almost-silent performance which has a deeply rich sentiment of power involved. His softly spoken delivery is frightening, and his tight, small eyes hide a far more terrifying behaviour under the surface just waiting to be released.
It is just a shame and somewhat of a travesty that a large percentage of viewers will never be able to see it the way it was intended on a cinema screen. Instead, they will have no option but to see it on the small screen - much to audiences and Scorsese's dismay. It was said when Scorsese released the electric The Wolf of Wall Street, but it feels aptly appropriate to state again: for a seventy-six-year-old man with more than enough classics and masterpieces under his belt, the director still continues to impress and defy expectations with staggering pieces of art that define cinematic standards.
The Irishman is released exclusively on NETFLIX with a limited cinema release November 27, 2019.
