Boasting a powerhouse of gangster actors, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, is director Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, a dramatization about organized crime history's greatest hit.
Adapted by screenwriter Steven Zaillian from Charles Brandt’s compelling nonfiction narrative I Heard You Paint Houses (2004), about top hitman Frank Sheeran's (De Niro) pivotal role in the 1975 mysterious disappearance of the second most powerful man in the country, Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), a Teamsters union president tied to the Pennsylvania based Russell Bufalino (Pesci) and Angelo Bruno (Harvey Keitel) mob.
Performances are top notch and engrossing. Scene-stealing Joe Pesci, playing against his usual hot-headed type, encapsulates the persona of the soft spoken, reflective, restrained and authoritative mafia don. His minimalist gestures set the tone loudly.
In his first collaboration with Scorsese, Al Pacino's rousing performance, as the infamous Jimmy Hoffa, is marked with bursts of explosive violence with interspersed dry humor, even in the most gruesome scenes.
In what may be one of his best performance since Heat (1995) Robert De Niro delivers a shivering rendition as Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, filled with some of the funniest scenes of his career.
Scorsese uses to chilling effect silence rather than music, to accentuate tension and mood. However, a more publicized creative choice of the film is the use of groundbreaking, de-aging technology used during flashbacks to portray the actors as younger men. Although not yet perfected, the technology is not distracting.
Well assembled are Scorsese's trademark tracking shots and montages by top notch repeat collaborators cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, sharp costume designs by Christopher Peterson and Sandy Powell, and meticulous production design by Bob Shaw.
The Irishman may be Scorsese's best, most powerful and empathetic film of his almost six decade long career. It is slower in pace compared to most of Scorsese's films. However, the masterful performances and technical detail makes the 209 minutes film viewing brisk, culminating in an elegant, contemplative final act.
The Irishman is majestic, one of the best films of the year.
Known for his films about the darker chapters of Italian history, director and co-writer Marco Bellochio's latest biopic, relates the story of Cosa Nostra's Tommaso (Masino) Buscetta (Pierfrancesco Favino), the first mafia boss who broke the code of silence, the omertà, by becoming an informant, a pentito, to anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone (Fausto Russo Alesi). His statements led to the arrest of hundreds of mobsters and the largest anti-mafia trial in history, the Maxi Trial, lasting from 1986 to 1992, in which Buscetta agreed to testify.
Set against a 20 years backdrop of Sicilian mafia history, from 1980 to 2000, Italy's entry for the 2020 Academy Awards Best International Feature Film centers on the struggle between humanity and power. Rather than perceiving himself as a pentito, Buscetta believes that the real traitor is Totò Riina's (Nicola Calì) Corleon mob, who broke the code of honor by abandoning the sacredness of family and respect, in favor of greed and absolute power.
In a career-best performance, Favino's poise as a mobster figure is compelling and convincing. Besides the good performance of Luigi Lo Cascio as Totuccio Contorno, Fabrizio Ferracane shines as the villain Pippo Calò. Providing levity is Vincenzo Pirrotta as Luciano Leggio, one of the highest-ranking bosses brought to trial.
At 152 minutes, the immersive narrative blends mob violence, drama, and a stimulating mega trial lightned by dark comedy. Accentuated by Nicola Piovani’s operaric score, are Vladan Radovic’s tone setting lensing and the vibrant period set designs representing Sicily, Rome, Brazil and the United States.
