Netflix has given veteran American director Martin Scorsese the freedom to make The Irishman, a freedom he does not get from Hollywood studios. On the one hand, the man made a complex film narrative, and visually captivating, about the story of the Mafia killer, Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro in his best performance of the decade).
On the other hand, he managed to reunite all his old friends, with some new faces in this work, although the length of the film, three and a half hours (209 minutes), is ideal for a short series of four episodes, but it is too long for film consumption Modern standards, especially without a break, and this period was common in the fifties and sixties.
Netflix entered the Oscar last year on the horse of Rome, which kidnapped Oscar for the best foreign film of the Cold War, and competed for the best American film, as well as several international awards. Although Netflix does not issue figures for every product on its platform periodically and accurately, it is well known that Rome was more favored by critics than Netflix users.
The reason is that Rome was a purely film production. While it is not the same for the film "Irish" vaccinated film, but it is more detailed for television viewing than cinema, or perhaps no difference between the two experiences.
A quarter of a century has passed since Scorsese collaborated with his favorite actor since the 1970s, Robert De Niro, and the two made the best of the 20th century: Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas, "Good Companions". And logistics for some projects, even though they are trying to work together.
Deniero's return to Scorsese's orbit reminds us of the actor's brilliance when he leaves the slapstick comedy.This is the first time he has given Oscar-worthy performance since the 1990s (if we ignore his performance in Silver Linings Playbook).
The "Irish" is based on the book of investigative journalist Charles Brandt, "I Heard You Painted Homes", which tells the story of Sheeran, culminating in the man's claim that he had assassinated Jimmy Hoffa (Albacino). He disappeared since that day.
There are several theories concerning the fall of Hoffa and how he disappeared, but Sheeran's account is the closest to the facts on the ground, and the only one with some degree of credibility. Regardless of Sheeran's claim and validity, this did not hurt Scorsese's masterpiece in which he tells the story of the man.
The Irishman is framed about Sheeran's memories, which we see at the end of a long, continuous start that crosses the corridors of a nursing home and ends with him sitting in a wheelchair. Although the assassination of Hoffa is a key element in the story, the film is about the life story of Sheeran, or even the study of his character's behavior, long before he met Hoffa, president of the trade union, the Timsters, until his disappearance.
But the relationship between them is the source of the momentum of the film, in which the scenes of Sheeran and Hoffa together enjoy the most power. The first chapter of the film details Sheeran's meeting with Mafia lawyer Bill Buffalino (Ray Romano), which he presents to his cousin Russell Buffalino (Joe Biesky), leader of the Scranton Mafia in Philadelphia.
Russell Sheeran presents to the rest of the Philadelphia gang Felix (Bobby Canaval) and Angelo Bruno (Harvey Keitel), and whenever a leading member of the gang appears, Scorsese freezes the screen and sets out a short paragraph explaining the history of the character's death, how she was killed and the number of bullets.
At the end of the 1950s, Sheeran went up the ladder of the gang and became an active member of the Mafia circles, to qualify for Hoffa. A friendship between Sheeran and Hoffa develops during the 1960s and 1970s, during which the film points to historical events closely related to the story, due to the potential involvement of Hoffa in such events, such as the election of President John F. Kennedy, his assassination, the Bay of Pigs, and the attempt to regain control of Hoffa. On the «Timsters», and the meeting of Detroit in July 1975, after which the man disappeared.
The Irish represents Scorsese's return to his former classics of gangsters for the first time since Casino 1995. We do not say that the film carries a new vision of gangsters, on the contrary it is a classic by the old standards adored by Scorsese's audience, which has followed its work in the past 50 years.
There is an opinion that Scorsese's strongest work before this film was "good company" in 1990, probably because it reflected friendship and interpersonal relationships within the gang. There is a biased view of the casino, because his story is more comprehensive, and details the rise and fall of the Mafia Empire Plus Vegas in the seventies. The first is a story from a personal perspective on the motives of a boy who wants to enter the world of gangs, while «Casino» about a complex story characterized by arrogant and greedy characters.
"Irish" is different from them, because it is a more meditative film, more emotional than Scorsese's gangster films. Scorsese persuaded Joe Pesci to leave his retirement and return to a final role different from his roles in "Good Company" and "Casino." Pisky's role here is more restrained and quiet than the ferocious criminal in Casino.
It is hard to believe that this is the first collaboration between two legends such as Albacino and Scorsese, but it is the third collaboration between Dinero and Albacino, after their famous screen-sharing in the wonderful Michael Mann heat of 1995, and then appearing in the bad film Righteous Kill. In 2008, of course, they met as actors in the second part of The Godfather 1974, without appearing together in any scene, and the Irish for the first time brought out the first harmony of deep meaning between them.
This film is nothing new for Scorsese compared to his previous films, but if the viewer understands the language of the gangster films he founded since the 1970s, culminating in the early 1990s, he will feel the power of expression.
This film is a farewell to a generation of 1970s stars who lost their momentum at the start of the new millennium, due to age, which imposed another type of role that is disproportionate to their status. Only Scorsese, who has kept his form for 50 years, and when Netflix offered him to work with her without any constraints, the man decided to return to the language and style, which he invented and inspired by generations of filmmakers.
Scorsese is back surrounded by the old guard (Dinero / Albacino / Pesci) who proved that aging and lack of momentum do not kill the ingenuity, experience and innate talent inherent in them. The Irish reflects the authentic cinema, the best film of 2019 and the best in this decade of cinematic bankruptcy.
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Netflix has given director Martin Scorsese absolute freedom, a freedom he does not get from Hollywood studios.
Deniero's return to Scorsese's orbit, reminiscent of the actor's brilliance when he leaves the slapstick comedy.
50
A year in which Scorsese has kept his form, this is a farewell film for a generation of 1970s stars who lost their momentum at the start of the new millennium due to aging.
No one really knows what happened to Hoffa on July 30, 1975.