Movie Review: The Irishman

Movie - The Irishman
Movie Review - The Irishman
Movie - The Irishman
Movie Review – The Irishman

“I heard you paint houses”

“Yes sir I do, and I do my carpentry as well”

These are the lines that go straight to your head when Al Pacino and Robert De Niro exchange the dialogue and they get you glued to the TV set. Recently released by Netflix, Martin Scorsese has successfully brought back the memories of Gangster/Italian Mafia movies with this film ‘The Irishman’.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Produced by: Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Irwin Winkler, Gerald Chamales, Gastón Pavlovich, Randall Emmett, Gabriele Israilovici

Screenplay by: Steven Zaillian

Based on: I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt

Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Ray Romano

Music by: Robbie Robertson

Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto

Edited by: Thelma Schoonmaker

Network: Netflix

Plot

The movie is based on the book ‘I Heard You Paint Houses’ by Charles Brandt. The book tells us about the story of Frank Sheeran, a World War II veteran who later becomes a hitman for the Italian Mafia. The movie tells us about Frank Sheeran who was also known as the Irishman and his journey from a simple truck driver to the feared Gangster. The movie also answers some questions about the Italian Mafia that have always been kept under covers. 

Review:

When you think of someone being portrayed as an Italian Mafia on screen, the first name that automatically comes to your mind is Robert De Niro. I would like to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, the man has undoubtedly delivered a heavyweight performance yet again. The man is so slick that whenever he appears in any of the gangster movies, that movie is a guaranteed hit. Not even for a single moment, De Niro goes out of character in this cinematic wonder. With Martin Scorsese at the helm, who has already delivered the greatest Italian Mafia movie of all time ‘Goodfellas’, there was not even an inch of doubt regarding this masterpiece. Coming together after ‘Goodfellas’ Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese just needed the Midas touch of Joe Pesci in this one and I am glad to tell you all that he has not disappointed. 

He has delivered a stellar performance and in my opinion like the last time, Joe Pesci might grab an Oscar for this time as well with the dream team. He takes to the role of ‘Russel Bufalino’ also known as the Silent Boss like he was living it. When they added Al Pacino to this perfect trio, the movie was bound to be bigger than the book itself. Al Pacino has proven his worth and convinced everyone with his performance as the famous ‘Jimmy Hoffa’, that he is left with a lot in the tank. Ray Romano takes the role of the ‘Bill Bufalino’ the lawyer and looks convincing.

If the stories are to be believed Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese have been dreaming of working on this project for over a decade and a half. Martin Scorsese has admitted that it was almost impossible to convince Joe Pesci, who had hung his acting gloves, to act in this Mafia movie because of the delay. Since the time Netflix got involved, Robert De Niro was able to convince him to come on board. Al Pacino in the 2014-15 period had said this movie would be Scorsese’s next project but sadly could not go on the production floor. Since this movie had got delayed by over 14 years, all the actors had aged significantly since its inception. To cover up for this, the crew has used de-ageing effect. The story required some of the actors to be 39 years of age whereas currently, the actors are in their 70’s. Technology has done the trick and all the actors look younger in the flashback segment.

Some people might have an objection with the length of the film, which is over 3 hours, but the detailing of Martin Scorsese justifies the time. The detailing of this movie is perfect from the clothes to the cars, to the trucks, to the historic significance, not one thing was out of place. If you haven’t seen this one, please log in to your Netflix account and enjoy this cinematic experience because you are in for an experience.