The Irishman (2019)

What do you get when you join a master director with three legendary actors?

Chances are... a masterpiece!

The Irishman (2019) is Martin Scorsese's latest motion picture and boy oh boy, does it live to the hype.

Based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses, this Netflix production teams up Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci (the latter coming out of a very long "unofficial retirement"),

The movie revolves around Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a war veteran working as a truck driver, who gets involved with mafioso Russell Bufalino (Pesci) and soon after becomes a hitman for his crime family.

Through his association with the mob, Sheeran ends up meeting unionist icon and Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino) with whom he develops a close relationship, even going as far as becoming his bodyguard.

Hoffa, as pointed out in the film, is a name that young generations might recognize but not know his story and the weight his name carried - specially - during the 50s.

As much as Hoffa is central to the film, his background story isn't told, so some reading and/or viewings* are recommended for some context before watching this film.

Through De Niro's character point of view, The Irishman depicts Sheeran's life in sequences of flashbacks leading to Hoffa's final years all the way up to his "mysterious" disappearance.

With a running time of three and half hours, there's a lot to pack-in... but even though there's always an argument to be made about movies that go that long, it never feels like a minute is wasted or a scene is unnecessary.

Scorsese shows he's still at the top of his game and I only hope he gets to deliver more of these gems in years to come.

De Niro and Pacino deliver exceptional roles, despite making quite a lot of questionable decisions over the last few years... but hey, they are entitled do it. They have nothing to prove and from time to time, they waltz around reminding everyone why they are revered as two of the best actors of all-time. Both delivered stellar performances.

My biggest shout-out, however, goes to Joe Pesci.

Pesci made a career for himself working under Scorsese and alongside De Niro.  

Raging Bull (1980) got his first Oscar nomination and Goodfellas (1990) delivered his first win in the supporting role category for one of the most iconic roles in movie history.

Five years later, Pesci took a similar role in Casino (1995), another critically acclaimed movie that once again teamed him up with Scorsese and De Niro.
 
In between, there's multiple crossovers into comedy and drama... some as leading man, others in a supporting role... Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Home Alone (1990), My Cousin Vinny (1992), With Honors (1994) are just some of the standout examples. 

In 1998, after the release of Lethal Weapon 4, Pesci started taking less roles eventually stepping out of the limelight and dedicating his time to other things, such as a music career.

In just about over twenty years, the man has made three movie appearances, all of which with a few years in between...

With this in mind, you can imagine that the idea of a comeback for a movie that reunited him with Scorsese and De Niro... and added Pacino (making it the first time they work together) was - in my opinion - the biggest headline.

It surpassed even my own expectations.

"Is acting like riding a bike?", I wonder. Because Pesci certainly made it look like it!

All and all, I can say this is one of Scorsese's finest in many years,  marking a pleasant return to a genre he made so popular.

And while 3h30m may be a struggle for some in a cinema room, my personal recommendation is that you see it in the big screen. It's just an unbeatable forum, particularly for films of this caliber.

Limited Theatrical release from November 8th. Netflix release November 27th

* There's a 1992 film Hoffa directed by Danny DeVito and starring Jack Nicholson that might shed some light.