By Brett Blake In a lot of ways, THE IRISHMAN feels like Martin Scorsese’s definitive final statement about organized crime and the ultimately devastating and soul-damning effects it has on those who come into contact with it. Far from the rip-roaring ride of GOODFELLAS or the operatic grandeur of CASINO, this is an extremely introspective work that is tinged throughout with melancholy and unspoken regret. Fundamentally, the movie is about a man looking back on his life and the key points where it pivoted further and further away from the straight and narrow. We see the gradual chain of events that lead Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) -- seemingly an okay man on the outside -- from being a truck driver to being a mob killer. There’s also a dreadful inevitability to many of the story’s turns, not just because some viewers might know the fates of some of the real-life people involved, like Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), but because it’s so clear that the characters are at the mercy of larger forces. Forces which, through their own actions, these people have allowed to have control over them. Sheeran is caught up in the middle of many opposing parties, doing his best to mediate things, but we know it’s futile. Tempering that stuff, though (and perhaps even enhancing it), is an unexpected level of warmth. We get to witness a great deal of affection and moments of human connection pass between many of the characters here. They’re allowed a lot of nuance, and emerge as complicated, complex people. It’s also a funny movie; by no means a laugh riot, of course, but there are plenty of exchanges and lines of dialogue that are genuinely amusing. The way the story is structured is interesting, employing a “flashbacks within a flashback” sort of device; there could have been a danger in such a decision, but the different eras have enough distinctiveness that it’s not difficult to keep track of the unfolding plots in each. Scorsese’s filmmaking is just as dynamic and engaging as ever. Beautiful camera moves, crisp and sharp editing, and a sense of momentum that is kind of miraculous given that this is a 210-minute, expansive film filled with digressions. He’s also always had a knack for knowing which piece of music to use under which sequence, and that’s on full display here with a series of needle drops that either perfectly set the tone or underline something in an unexpected way. Now, I would be lying if I said I thought the CGI de-aging (especially of De Niro) was seamless, because it’s not. It exists on a sliding scale between serviceable and odd, but it never reaches the point of detracting from any given scene. What’s particularly exciting about seeing Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci back together in a Scorsese picture (for the first time since 1995!) is that they’re not merely playing variants on roles they’ve played before; this is new territory for both of them. De Niro’s persona tends to lend itself to playing guys on the upper end of the food chain, but here, he’s playing a pure subordinate, one who has big connections, sure, but who is fundamentally there to follow orders. As the situation gets gradually more complex, the weight pressing down on Sheeran is extremely well-portrayed by De Niro. And Pesci is particularly great in this -- when you think of Pesci in a mob-related part, you naturally think of a certain kind of performance, but that’s not what he’s doing here at all. He conveys the sense that he’s a regular, decent guy, and only occasionally allows darker, more chilling moments to filter to the surface. It’s a quiet and reserved performance, and it’s one of his best ever. As Jimmy Hoffa, Al Pacino is... well, Pacino. BIG Pacino. Scenery-chewing Pacino. But somehow, it’s not over-the-top, and it feels appropriate for the stubborn and outsized personality this tale’s version of Hoffa is. It’s undeniably fun to watch Pacino tear into things with this kind of gusto. Finally having Pacino in a Martin Scorsese film has been a long time coming, and it was worth the wait. It’s way too soon to start talking about placing THE IRISHMAN alongside Scorsese’s other masterpieces, but it’s unquestionably a powerful and engrossing work that closes the book on his crime films, and it’s one of 2019’s best.
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