Review

Netflix’s “The Irishman” Proves that SCORSESE is Far from Finished

Editor Austin Kent

Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. This film follows an elderly WWll vet named Frank Sheeran, as he recalls his time as a hitman for the Bufalino Family, a very powerful italian crime family from 1950’s Philadelphia.

This film was another one of my most anticipated films of the year. Ever since the title reveal, and when we learned Scorsese was gonna direct it, I knew we were in for something good. And I was not let down at all.

This film is outstanding, I loved it. Scorsese continues to prove why he is one of the greats when it comes to filmmaking. Even though it was a whopping three and a half hours long, I enjoyed every minute of it.

With that being said, there is a LOT to cover so I’m going to try my best to talk about as much as possible.

First off, the cast. De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci: incredible. For Pacino, this could be his best performance since Scarface, he was able to go from pure rage, screaming his head off at somebody, to being calm and compassionate so effortlessly.

And as for De Niro, he was just as entertaining. His character, like I said, is a war vet. You already know that he has been through some pretty rough stuff, and you’re able to see that when you look at him on screen. He ages a lot over the course of the film, because it spans over about 30 years. It's amazing seeing him age like that, and seeing him look more and more worn down due to his past.

Joe Pesci was very good in this film as well. As the head of the crime family, he had a very intimidating presence that was at some times chilling. He knew what he wanted and he knew how to get it, no matter what.

The shots in this film were also great. It really conveyed those late 50's-70 feels, and there were some very long shots during some particularly tense scenes which made you feel as uncomfortable as the people on screen.

As for negatives, the way they went from present time to flashbacks was quite confusing. It opened up with Sheeran in a nursing home talking about his life as a part of the Bufalino family, then goes to flashback to the actual event, but then cuts to a road trip with Sheeran and Joe Pesci’s character Russel. After a while, the other flashbacks and the road trip one eventually intertwine. Which makes a bit of sense, but still is super confusing. Also, regarding the 3hr 30min runtime, that did make it a little drawn out at some points.

All in all, this movie is absolutely incredible. It was definitely worth the wait, and has surely made it into my top 5 favorite films. Definitely check it out on netflix, because I'm sure you’d enjoy it too.