Scorsese is back doing what he does best – directing movies about the mob, and with a cast that gangster-film fans can only conjure up in their dreams.
Scorsese stalwart, Robert De Niro, plays labour union leader and alleged hitman for the Buffalino crime family, Frank ‘The Irishman’ Sheeran.
Based on the novel ‘I Heard You Paint Houses’ by Charles Brandt, the film follows Sheeran as he reflects on his sketchy past, particularly his involvement in the disappearance of his longtime friend Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), and his dealings with organised crime.
The trailer for this highly anticipated mob film from Scorsese has a lot to absorb and doesn’t outline any clear narrative for the film.
It feels a bit all over the place, with brief looks at the characters and snippets featuring some crime action and drama.
Nevertheless, this is Scorsese’s bread and butter, and with a cast this good, there’s no way this film can be bad, right?
Another thing you can’t miss, is the much-discussed digital de-aging of the film’s lead actors, De Niro, Pesci and Pacino (possibly others too).
It’s scary just how good this technology is getting.
It’s obvious that there’s plenty of digital enhancements in the faces of these actors, but in some sparse instances, it’s freakishly realistic (check out another good example of it in Will Smith’s latest, Gemini Man here).
There’s been a huge break since the last, great gangster film (was 2006’s The Departed it?), and as I mentioned before, this is what Scorsese does best, so I’m hoping The Irishman can sit with the greats of the genre when it’s released on Netflix later this year.
Alongside De Niro, Pacino and Pesci are Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin, Bobby Cannavale and Ray Romano in supporting roles.
Share your thoughts about this film in the comments below.
COMMENTS