☆☆☆½
Martin Scorsese's The Irishman is a movie that demands attention and patience, and some people sitting in the movie theater when I saw it could not quite muster either: I heard both snoring and whispers of questions like, "Who is that?"
It's not a film that will pair well with the distractions that invariably accompany watching anything on Netflix, where it will mostly be seen; its three-and-a-half hour running time will not be forgiving of stops, starts and interruptions. Paying half-attention to The Irishman may lead people to conclude that it's either boring or brilliant, though it's actually neither, although Scorsese consistently reminds us of his filmmaking brilliance.
At times The Irishman is grandly entertaining, but also times when it drags in its flashback-driven story of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a small-time criminal who becomes part of a crime family led by Russell Buffalino (Joe Pesci) and goes to work for Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). More than an hour of setup drags, but the film really gets going as it tells the Hoffa story. In its final, strongest third, it's a melancholy exploration of aging and guilt, but it takes a long while to get there.
Throughout, the movie offers often convincing, often distracting computer-enhanced "de-aging," and an exquisite production design that is one of its highlights. Less florid than Scorsese's earlier crime dramas, The Irishman (introduced on screen as I Heard You Paint Houses) requires, and rewards, patience even if its length proves to be a not-insignificant detriment.
Viewed November 17, 2019 -- Laemmle NoHo
1350
It's not a film that will pair well with the distractions that invariably accompany watching anything on Netflix, where it will mostly be seen; its three-and-a-half hour running time will not be forgiving of stops, starts and interruptions. Paying half-attention to The Irishman may lead people to conclude that it's either boring or brilliant, though it's actually neither, although Scorsese consistently reminds us of his filmmaking brilliance.
At times The Irishman is grandly entertaining, but also times when it drags in its flashback-driven story of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a small-time criminal who becomes part of a crime family led by Russell Buffalino (Joe Pesci) and goes to work for Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). More than an hour of setup drags, but the film really gets going as it tells the Hoffa story. In its final, strongest third, it's a melancholy exploration of aging and guilt, but it takes a long while to get there.
Throughout, the movie offers often convincing, often distracting computer-enhanced "de-aging," and an exquisite production design that is one of its highlights. Less florid than Scorsese's earlier crime dramas, The Irishman (introduced on screen as I Heard You Paint Houses) requires, and rewards, patience even if its length proves to be a not-insignificant detriment.
Viewed November 17, 2019 -- Laemmle NoHo
1350
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