Inspired by Charles Brandt's I Heard You Paint Houses, The Irishman is an epic, crime drama with a stellar cast list that includes Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel. And with Martin Scorsese at the helm, The Irishman is a mouthwatering prospect. After all, this was the first time Martin Scorsese and Al Pacino had worked together, and the first time the director had worked with Robert De Niro since 1995's tour de force, Casino.
Is The Irishman Scorsese's one last hurrah? The film is certainly a welcome addition to a filmography that spans Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed. And whilst the director certainly borrows from his auspicious back catalogue, he manages to repackage the storyline in a unique way. Whilst the aforementioned films may have, in some instances, glamorised the violence associated with a life of organised crime, The Irishman centres on the most ruthless killer of all - old age. The director annotates the film with date of death details for each of the characters as they appear on screen. Yes, some are slain in cold blood, others die of natural causes, but they all die.
Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) recants his career as The Irishman. Flashbacks within flashbacks culminate in a poignant reflection and stoic defiance from the last man standing. There is a quiet intensity to De Niro's performance.
At times The Irishman feels ponderous. More officious editing could have probably trimmed 30 minutes off the three-and-a-half run time. Yet, the major issue with The Irishman is that it was made 20 years too late. The digital de-aging technology can't convince the audience that these iconic leads are younger men. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino were both in their seventies at the time of production, and even when their faces are young, their postures remain those of aged, world-weary men, hunched over by guilt.
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