Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci
10/10
I don’t like many Scorsese films. They’re generally repetitive, often tediously long, and overly reliant on oldies for the soundtrack. But I loaded The Irishman up on Netflix and hit play. First thing that comes on? An annoying oldie. I didn’t hit stop though, and the 3 1/2 hour film went by painlessly and more than held my attention. The Irishman is a truly great film.
It tells the story of actual Mafia hitman Frank Sheeran (De Niro) from his post-WW2 days as a truck driver to final years in a nursing home. His career intertwines with people like Joey Gallo, the Bay of Pigs organizers (including E Howard Hunt), various Philadelphia mafiosi, and Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino).
Late in life Sheeran confessed to the author of the book the film is based on that he killed Hoffa, and some law enforcement people familiar with the case find the story compelling. Many doubts remain, so the film should not be seen as closing the case. The film also suggests the Mafia was behind JFK’s assassination.
I thoroughly enjoyed the re-creations of 50s and 60s America and the many fine performances. Pacino job as Hoffa, complete with thick Midwestern accent, has both humor and pathos, especially the latter as we see him struggle to reassert control of the Teamsters. Joe Pesci plays a Mafia boss named Russell Bufalino who’s a stern, unanimated, and coldblooded figure – a departure from his usual roles as hotheads. Bufalino tells Sheeran to give Hoffa the bosses’ ultimatum.
Sheeran is depicted as a conscience-less figure but not a psychotic or detestable one. He has a family but it’s not close or warm. A daughter comes to loathe and refuse to speak to him. If there’s any likable character, it’s Hoffa who loves the union he made and to some extent its members.
His passion to regain control of the Teamsters after serving time in prison leads to conflict with the Mafia, and to his murder. The final twenty minutes show De Niro and Pesci’s characters doing time, getting old, and facing the end – with no regrets.
It’s well known that the film used CGI to make De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci look like young men at times, middle-aged ones at others, and finally as octogenarians (except for Hoffa of course). The most sophisticated CGI could not make De Niro look like a man in his thirties though, let alone a young GI in Italy!
© 2019 Brian M Downing
Brian M Downing is a national security analyst who’s written for outlets across the political spectrum. He studied at Georgetown University and the University of Chicago, and did post-graduate work at Harvard’s Center for International Affairs. Thanks as ever to Susan Ganosellis.