The Irishman (2019)- BFI London Film Festival 2019

Review

208min

Genre:       Fact-based, Crime, Drama

Director:    Martin Scorsese

Cast:         Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci…and more

Writers:     Steven Zaillian and Charles Brandt

-Synopsis-

When 1950s family man truck driver Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran ingratiates himself with certain people, he soon climbs the ranks of the East coast mob, while becoming a labour union official and the right-hand-man to powerful and mysteriously disappeared Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa—only to become caught in the middle of a conflict between the two, with his loyalties tested and the future put at risk . . . for him and everyone around him.

If there are three things that Martin Scorsese know it’s movies, mobsters, and recent American history, having previously combined them to give us some of the greatest wiseguy flicks ever committed to celluloid, carving out an untouchable place for himself in the history of the sub-genre. Now teaming up with an ambitious Netflix to deliver their biggest and reportedly costliest film to date, the Queens auteur sticks closer still to historical events and reunites with screenwriter Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, Gangs of New York) to adapt Charles Brandt’s 2004 book ‘I Heard You Paint Houses’—upping the scale, spanning several decades and intersecting with key moments in 20th century American history to deliver a biographical organised crime epic for the ages.

Robert De Niro stars as the Irishman in question Frank Sheeran, a World War II veteran and family man working as a unionised truck driver in Pennsylvania, whose life is transformed by a chance meeting with ‘made man’ Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), as he becomes part of the East coast mob and rubs shoulders with other prominent figures like Angelo Bruno (Harvey Keitel), working as a problem solver and “painting houses” (with people’s brains). When his talents bring him into the good graces of the powerful and fiery head of the Teamsters union Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), Sheeran’s life takes another turn as he becomes his confidant and a labour official himself, only for things to sour when their questionable activities come home to roost and tensions between Hoffa and the mob come to a head, putting loyalties and friendships on the line.

It takes a special story to bring Joe Pesci out of retirement and reunite Scorsese with his muse De Niro after nearly twenty-five years—and a long affair with Leonardo DiCaprio—not to mention bringing his original cinematic soulmate Harvey Keitel back into the fold. But this extraordinary story of influential and clandestine old-timers is the perfect vehicle to bring these legendary silver screen veterans back together, and welcome the great Al Pacino to the family, plus bring in some unlikely but cherished new faces like Jesse Plemons, Brit Stephen Graham as a convincing cocksure New York wiseguy, and Ray Romano continuing his dramatic rebirth as a mob lawyer.

In terms of scale, where the story goes, the historical figures it draws in and the length of time it spans, this is Scorsese’s biggest mob movie to date, intersecting directly with some of the key moments in the JFK presidency and well into the Nixon era, while traversing the US and impacting further afield—and all unfolding over a three-and-a-half hour runtime. As such the director drifts closer to the mafia work of his long time friend and mentor Francis Ford Coppola, and away from his own more humble cinematic origins, yet never losing that sharp wiseguy street sensibility which he defined for the screen.

In fact that very style and energy which defines his mob movies is alive and well here, so alive in fact that this is probably his most overtly funny gangster film ever, often unfolding with black deadpan humour and sharp earthy dialogue between well-drawn archetypal characters, with plenty of colourful language to spice everything up, and it’s a pleasant surprise to find that Al Pacino as Hoffa is often the one delivering a blunt quip or killer line. As with all his gangster flicks, the director’s signature use of music is also a major feature of the film and its tone, blending yet another memorable soundtrack of classic blues, pop, rock and soul with original music from the legendary Robbie Robertson of ‘The Band’, who reunites with Scorsese after thirty-three years for only his third feature score.

The film’s flow and structure will also be familiar to fans of Scorsese’s gangster work, relying heavily on strong narration, in this case provided mainly by messrs De Niro and Pesci, while the narrative often unravels in non-linear fashion, jumping back and forth between eras and the lifetime of events which lead up to the core of the film—the fate of Jimmy Hoffa—a mystery which the film claims to solve according to the testimony of ‘The Irishman’ himself. One novelty which really catches the eye though is the darkly comical way in which every new character Sheeran meets is introduced, with a text blurb about their eventual untimely and violent demise, reminding us all about the nature of this game.

With a daunting three-and-a-half hour runtime to play with—which Scorsese masterfully breezes through apart from a slight drag in the final twenty minutes—‘The Irishman’ also has the space to be the most reflective of his mafia movies, at times unfolding more like a family drama and using his deteriorating relationship with his kids to frame the personal consequences of Sheeran‘s actions and the life he chose, while also proving a meditation on friendship, ageing and regret.

Aside from the screenplay from Steven Zaillian and the direction of a true master, all of this is made possible through the performances, particularly a nuanced, restrained but charismatic one from Robert De Niro at its core, who’s likely to bother the upcoming awards season selection as a lead for the first time in decades. Meanwhile the supporting turns are so accomplished and plentiful that it’s hard to single but a few out, but homage must be paid to his fellow screen legends here, with Joe Pesci superbly subverting expectations as the calm and calculating senior mob statesman, and Al Pacino back to his magnetic best and often stealing the scene as the fiery and hilarious wildcard Hoffa, with both likely to have some impact come award season.

Regardless of what you think about his comments regarding Marvel movies and superhero films not being cinema, Scorsese backs them up by producing exactly that, real cinema, and does so on what many would consider TV, raising Netflix’s reputation as a major Hollywood studio and delivering their finest film to date. Further solidifying his reputation as master of the mob movie and one of the greatest filmmakers ever—as if that were ever in question.

The Bottom Line…

An epic yet streetwise era-spanning, history-straddling mob masterpiece from the king of the sub-genre, ‘The Irishman’ confidently strides into the pantheon of great wiseguy film in style and takes its rightful place—adding another notch to the already impressive belt of its legendary director, its stars, and a studio boldly revolutionising the industry . . . for better or worse.

‘The Irishman’ is available on the 27th of November Netflix, and in selected UK theatres on the 8th of November.

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