The Irishman (2019): Gods At Dawn

"I heard you paint houses"

The Irishman (2019) is a crime drama film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Gangs Of New York) and written by Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List, American Gangster, Moneyball). Based on the book called I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, the film chronicles the life of Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a truck driver turned hitman and his ties to the Bufalino mafia and his friendship with Jimmy Hoffa.

First of all, I must say that I have watched eleven (twelve if we include this one) movies directed by Scorsese and not once have I hated or disliked one of his films. Some were better than others, but all of them have been enjoyable at the very least, and The Irishman is a new addition to the collection. Martin Scorsese is not my favorite director, but I like his style a lot, however, I prefer his more drama-driven films than the gangster-inspired ones, but this is just a matter of opinion.

The Irishman, as said before, chronicles the life of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) and how he became a hitman working for the gangster Russell Buffalino (Joe Pesci) and Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). The movie has three timelines that interconnect:

1. Sheeran starting his life of crime.

2. Sheeran traveling to an unknown place with Russell Buffalino and their respective wives.

3. Sheeran in a retirement home talking about his early life to an unseen person.

The characters are really complex and the film shows how complicated their lives are by being involved in the crime underworld:

Frank Sheeran is a World War II veteran who loves his family, but does awful shit to others. Most of his life he was a bad person and it really shows. He loves his daughter Peggy (Lucy Gallina as Young Peggy and Anna Paquin as adult Peggy), but she knows who he really is and loathes him for it. Sheeran is not a good man, never was, and never will be. The Irishman does not try to redeem this character, because there is no way he is going to be anything else than the monster he truly is. De Niro is amazing as usual, so I have no complaints.

Jimmy Hoffa is a powerful teamster who believes himself to be above others, and in a way, he is. Hoffa has all the power and he is a really, really dangerous man. He shows a caring and kind side to the people, and the other side that plots assassinations and frauds is hidden. It is no secret that the real Hoffa was never found, so this movie shows an interesting take of his persona. Al Pacino as Hoffa is excellent and working with De Niro, Pesci and Scorsese, his acting delivers even more than usual.

Russell Buffalino is Frank's friend and the one who guides him into the crime world. Buffalino is relentless, cruel, and does whatever it takes for power. On the outside he tries to look like a normal guy, but Peggy knows who he is as well. Pesci, after being retired for years, still has some juice left. 

Peggy Sheeran is Frank's daughter and she barely speaks in the movie. This has been a very controversial topic, and I do understand where the critics are coming from, because you have Anna Paquin being silent, but I believe acting requires more than saying words. I think Frank is not deserving of Peggy's words.

I think that this movie is an epic crime drama, and its length (209 minutes (almost 3 hours and a half)) can scare anybody away, and there's no way in hell I could have watched this film on a cinema. Some believe that it may have been better for this to be released as a mini-series, and I agree, but Scorsese is running for the Oscars, so he needed the story to be a full-length film. I think that the best way to watch this is to divide it, because not everybody can be sat for 3 hours and a half watching something. If you can, hats off to you.

The photography was very good, and there are many interesting themes the movie tackles, including the usual topics of masculinity that pervade Scorsese's filmography, grey morality, redemption, among others, but also the heavy political background involving presidents Nixon and John F. Kennedy. Another interesting thing was the introductions for each character, which shows when and how every gangster died, meaning we know they die in horrible ways.

Moreover, despite being a mob movie, the violence is not very explicit compared to other movies of the same genre, and it is a slow-driven crime drama, so the lack of gore and the slow pace can be a turn off for a lot of people (not for me though). In addition, the CGI used to make the actors look young is not the best sometimes, but it does not distract you from the story. I also think there were some editing issues, which is not usual in Scorsese's films.

To sum up, The Irishman is an epic mob drama about the life of a criminal and the consequences of his actions. In addition, The Irishman can be seen as a tribute to the gansgter genre and perhaps a swan song to Scorsese, De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci, because it feels like the end of an era, however, if they still make more movies like this I would be glad to watch them, even if I pause them every 30 minutes.