The Irishman Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro And Al Pacino On Time In A Modern Classic

The Irishman Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino on time in A Modern Classic "The Irishman" is actually quite droll, with some of the best characters and dialogue you'll see in a film all year.

The Irishman, opening in limited theaters this week before streaming in a month, is a masterpiece and one of the legend’s most ambitious work to date. It’s also one of his best, having stayed in my mind for over a month since it premiered at the New York Film Festival. Believe the hype, as this is not just a surefire Academy Award contender or one of 2019’s top titles, but another Scorsese gem.

Netflix will release The Irishman for a three-week exclusive run in theaters. The film will begin streaming December 1 and is expected to be an across-the-board awards contender, giving Netflix another chance at its first Best Picture Oscar.

There is no question that three hours and 28 minutes qualifies as a long movie. And in a landscape where some films can make two hours seem bloated and overindulgent, it's at least understandable why one might be wary. But Scorsese has earned the benefit of the doubt and "The Irishman" keeps you rapt from the first winding tracking shot through a staid retirement home a flashy cinematic show in the most un-cinematic of places through the melancholic end.

Martin Scorsese comes first, then Al Pacino, then Robert De Niro. They are trailed by a small army of publicists and assistants that quickly recedes out of the room. Constant through the momentary commotion is Scorsese enthusiastically remembering Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s “A Matter of Life and Death”, and quoting its lines to a rapt Pacino.

The film is a crime epic, spanning decades. At the center of it all is Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a low level mobster and union man who will be torn between two loyalties. At the start, he catches the eye of Pennsylvania crime boss Russell Bufalino (Pesci) and his superior Angelo Bruno (Harvey Keitel). Small jobs make him some money, but more importantly build trust. Then, Russell connects him with a friend in Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Frank and Jimmy become fast pals, growing close, including their families.

The whole film in fact is something of a knowing contradiction: A small epic with a superhero budget, using technology like the oft-discussed de-aging process not for vulgar show or gimmickry but to add real heart and grandeur to a film that is trying to grapple with the scope of a life. The subject at hand here is Frank Sheehan (Robert De Niro), the teamster and mafia figure who claimed right before his death that he was the one who killed Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino).

The Irishman is out on Netflix on 27th November 2019