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Seeing Robert De Niro (New York, 1943) and Al Pacino (New York, 1940) together creates the same confusion for a movie buff as a believer contemplating Allah and Jehovah holding hands walking through London's South Bank. But we had not been that God is one and, if anything, triune? Well no, there are two. And, because of their gestures on the screen and even in real life, they are trilling. One smiles; The other gestures. Also, to smile too.
How is it possible for the two to fit in the same room? On the side of the first are Vito Corleone, Travis Bickle or Jake La Motta. And noodles, of course. On the part of the second, Michael Corleone, Tony Montana or Serpico. And Carlito, obviously. If one were a mythomaniac (and what is the morning of October one is not?) It could collapse. And who says it hasn't happened.
Now, in a central and marbled London hotel, they appear as a couple because of Martin Scorsese (how is it possible that he had not joined them before?) And his huge The Irish , which opens in theaters on November 15 and on Netflix on 27 of the same month. The film tells the story of Frank Sheeran, the first, who is finally Jimmy Hoffa , the second. Their destinations seem linked either on the screen or in life, as in this nothing modest hostel on the banks of Thames.
The fact that the main plot of the film is time, thus in generic, and that they both, with the help of the digital, appear, at will, aged or rejuvenated (more De Niro than Al Pacino) makes everything fit . It was about that, that it is clear that for the gods time is nothing more than the slight reflection of an instant. And forever.
Or not so much. "Actually, we are good friends since the 60s," Al Pacino began the protocol for not contravening tradition. In everything that lasts the encounter, one is more to speak and the other to agree. "We met at a time in our lives when things just happened somewhat unexpectedly. Each one took his way and the fact that we have barely worked together is nothing more than a consequence of how well we have done."
Pacino, hair in a ponytail, bulls' eater ring, calm gesture and frank looking answers that question rather than simply forced.
Why two period actors have barely met three times? And he continues: "Actually, there are two. In The Godfather each one did his part. Then, yes, we saw each other and shared scenes in Heat (Michael Mann) and in Just Murder (Jon Avnet). What can I say? Irish is a form of comfort, of comfort for all that perhaps we should have done and did not do . "
De Niro looks straight ahead and someone would say nod. Although that, perhaps, is going too far. In what if the one who finally and ultimately is also the protagonist of the film is explained, it is in the long journey from the initial idea to the final result.
He tells us that the idea was to make another film, with gangsters, hitmen and all that world that so well defines the geography of both Scorsese and the speaker. "We began to see countless movies from the 30s to inspire us. Well, Marty [Scorsese] was telling me what it had to do. And in that process it fell into my hands. I heard you paint houses , by Charles Brandt. The idea was to document me, but I saw clearly that everything was there. I passed it to Marty and it all started there ... ", he says, he stops over the details of the frustrated conversations with Paramount and, yes, stops.
It would be said, and this is how many have come to see the prodigy (because that is what it is), that the Irish close a kind of virtuous loop with the past of almost everyone who participates in it: from screenwriter Steven Zaillian to the eternal Scorsesian editor Thelma Schoonmaker going through each of the actors (Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel and those present here) without forgetting the factotum of all this. But it is also an essentially digital window and provocatively without cinemas. By Netflix. Cinema for television with high technology of 150 million dollars . Is a revolution comparable, that of the New Hollywood of the 70s, with the other, today?
De Niro lifts his shoulders and Al Pacino throws himself: "I wouldn't take the similarities very far. In the 70s we all had the attitude of players. We were betting on doing things that might seem different. There was an energy in the shared environment. Maybe there if there is something similar. Also this movie is a bet. In any case, what moves us is not melancholy or nostalgia for those times . Yes, I was there, but if I am sincere, I do not remember anything about the 70 ". And at this point, yes, De Niro lets out a laugh. "I really do remember. I don't have such a bad memory. He's a little older than me." New grimace (or was it laughter?).
Anyway, the movie talks about violence. And it does so as a constitutive part of the History of America. It is time for De Niro to take the floor. If only to remind us that Donald Trump is still there. "He is part of the worst tradition in my country . In times of discord like the ones we live in, we need someone to tell us how to be together, not to divide us. The confrontation is there, on the surface, and that is why it is important , now more than ever, of a leader who knows how to find common spaces. I don't ask for anything strange. That happened before in Jerusalem where several religions lived together and now it happens naturally both in New York and right here in London. "
De Niro stops, takes a breath, and continues: "But he (for Trump) has made the confrontation his natural space. He is convinced that differences are a bad thing . But, in reality, he doesn't believe in anything. He only worries one thing: to remain the boss. And for that I am convinced that he would not hesitate to get us into a war. Moreover, I believe that if he lost the next elections by a narrow margin of votes, any excuse to continue will be invented. "
New pause "Moreover, as we go to war, anything will be invented to achieve a third unconstitutional mandate. Can anyone imagine it in front of the United States for the third time?" Silence. By then, Al Pacino stares at the table and, suddenly, a representative of the producer enters the room: "Please, could you change the meaning of the questions?" .
New silence Of all.
At this point, Al Pacino, more conciliatory, remembers that he met Jimmy Hoffa , the character he plays. And it does so by continuing with the parallels between fiction and reality, even "in another sense." "I remember it," he says, "as an icon. I didn't know anything about him as I didn't know what he did with the money from the unions or how it related to the mafia. But I do remember that he was a defender of Martin Luther King and that his image was completely normalized. And that, without a doubt, is fascinating. It is not a monster, but quite the opposite . " And that's it all that had to be talked about politics. And Trump.
There remains, of course, the work of an actor who, in his own way, is also political. By transformer. How can new technologies affect a job like yours? "Actually, little," now begins De Niro. And he continues: "The most annoying thing is to work with a prosthesis in the face that literally laminates the gestures. But when you do it with those points (those that serve to apply the technology of motion capture), everything is greatly simplified. I think that far to cancel, strengthen our work. "
Al Pacino is right and increases the bet: "Acting is nothing more than adapting your movements and your action to what happens around you. Cinema is always something unnatural for an actor . You act with a camera in front, a huge microphone on top of it and, many times, you do it alone, without anyone's reply. Let's say that the technologies we have worked with in this movie add artifacts around. More fun. "
-One has an Oscar and the other two. What would happen if one is nominated now and not another?
-Al Pacino: I don't think it will happen. God is good and will place each of us in a category.
-Robert De Niro: Yes, that will happen. I don't think they take that pleasure away. The nominations are very good.
And having said that, Al Pacino and De Niro get up, ask about some candies on the table and leave. Not hand in hand, but almost. God beside God .
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