The Irishman (2019)

'The Irishman' is really a capstone film on a number of fronts, almost certainly the last gangster picture Martian Scorsese will ever make, it may also turn out to be one of the last movies Scorsese makes period, the man is 77. The cast is full of septuagenarians as well, De Niro, Pacino, Pesci, heck Harvey Keitel is 80 years old. A sprawling gangster epic that spans roughly 50 years, the film takes advantage of advances in special effects to de-age the appearance of some principal stars, this works reasonably well though by the end of the film some of these characters have become even older then the actors playing them so more traditional old age makeup is employed.

Based on the book 'I Heard You Paint Houses' by Charles Brandt the film centers on the life of Frank Shreeran a high ranking official in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters who had links to the Pennsylvania based Bufalion crime family. The film also concerns the ultimate fate of Jimmy Hoffa, a perennial mystery though upon further investigation the theory here advanced is not one of the more credible. This is a long movie which is slower, a little less violent, and more reflective in tone then its directors previous gangster offerings. At 209 minutes its a serious sit and obviously not for all audiences. It is a well put together finely executed film that has a solid literary quality to it, it has a feeling of heft and substance  and is full of fine performances, which we of course expect from the actors involved, though Joe Pesci might just pull off that Oscar. Not a razzle dazzle spectacle but continuously good to very strong and all building to a denouement that Scorsese has reportedly wanted to explore since the 1980's. One of last years best films. ****