The Irishman (2019)

Starring- Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Ray Romano and Al Pacino. 

Directed By- Martin Scorsese

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Jimmy Hoffa- "I heard you paint houses"

Frank Sheeran: Yes. Yes, sir, I do. I do. And I, uh, I also do my own carpentry.

If you are a fan of watching crime, gangster movies which are based on a true story then The Irishman is the best thing to binge. And in order to fully appreciate the movie, you gotta watch it more than once. Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro yet again collaborate to present a masterpiece. 

The best thing about The Irishman is that it keeps you on the edge despite being a 210 minutes long movie. The CGI in the movie is absolutely perfect. Over the period of 50 years being shown in the movie, you can easily recognise the change in the characters facial expressions (De Niro and Joe Pesci). 

The story revolves around Frank Sheeran (De Niro) who started as a truck driver, then gets recruited by Russell Bafalino and his Pennsylvania Crime Family, then goes on to become one of the top hitmen in the country. After working for and with Russell for more than 10 years, Frank gets an opportunity to work with Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), who is an old friend of Russell. 

Now, majority of the Americans would know who Jimmy Hoffa was. Jimmy Hoffa was an American Labour Union Leader who worked from the mid 50s to late 60s. Jimmy also wanted to run for the President of the United States. 

The Irishman is methodical rather than macabre, clinical rather than cruel. This is a film in which, frequently, not very much is happening: Policeman and investigators try to crack a code or interview suspects or discuss elements of the crimes. 

The Irishman shows the various aspects of human life. For example-

Frank Sheeran- “Russell went to the Church, then to the Prison Hospital and straight to his graveyard”.

Now before this statement, when Frank asks Russell about where’s he heading, then Russell responds by saying: I’m going to the Church. To which Frank had a smirk on his face. Like, ‘Church’ Really. Because they have been so busy with their life, for all the crimes they have committed- never had the opportunity to come face to face with Jesus himself.

This explains the human tendency, when a man gets old- no matter how many crimes he has committed, in the end he wants to stand in the presence of god. In this way, Frank Sheeran said goodbye to his good old buddy. 

Now, Scorsese and De Niro have worked together on numerous films like, ‘Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Casino, Raging Bull’. Also, Scorsese, De Niro and Pesci have worked together in Casino and Goodfellas. Joe Pesci made his return to the film industry after announcing his retirement in 2011, to pursue a career as a musician. And we all love Al Pacino, don’t we?  Pacino and De Niro go way back in the mid 70s while working together in The Godfather Part II, also Heat (1995). The Irishman was the second movie for Al Pacino in the year 2019 along with “.....Once upon a time in Hollywood”.

The movie is based on a Book named “I heard you Paint Houses”, which is a reference shown multiple times in the movie itself. 

Jack Nicholson’s Hoffa (1992) was based on the life of Jimmy Hoffa but that didn’t really work out despite the powerful performance by the great actor. 

Scorcese’s expertise will leave you on the edge of your seat anxiously preparing for the next scene, line, or movement, a case in point being a basement scene that sent chills from my spine to my tailbone. The Irishman, then, is a film in which near enough everything works. This is real, and when the real is as gripping and terrifying as the story of Pennsylvania Crime Family, it enthrals in a way that fiction can’t.

My Rating- 8.5/10

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