If Netflix’s intention to be taken seriously as a major player in the film industry wasn’t already apparent, we may look back on 2019 as the year the pendulum officially swung. In 2018, they bought up domestic distribution and video-on-demand rights for a black-and-white foreign-language film and helped turn it into a serious contender during awards season. Roma, went on to win three Oscars (Director, Foreign Film, and Cinematography) while securing nominations in 10 total categories. While they didn’t take home Best Picture, it certainly put Hollywood on notice. To prove they’re not just dabbling, this year they went out and bought up all the US media rights for Martin Scorsese’s star-studded Jimmy Hoffa epic and gave it a nationwide theatrical run before releasing it on their streaming platform. The Irishman is a compelling tale of violence, history, and circumstance that demonstrates a career’s worth of craftsmanship…and it helps give Netflix another potential Best Picture candidate heading into awards season.
I plopped down on the couch at 10 pm fully expecting to digest this movie is two separate sittings, much like my Thanksgiving dinners. However, the pace, the narrative approach, and the story were compelling enough to keep me wholly engaged from the comfort of my couch. Don’t get me wrong, this is a marathon of a movie at three and a half hours but it’s not quite so daunting once you get started. Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List) adapted the screenplay from the Charles Brandt book I Heard You Paint Houses which detailed the alleged confessions of Frank Sheeran, a hitman for the Bufalino crime family. Zaillian is no stranger to Scorsese or gangster movies, having written Gangs of New York and American Gangster, so it’s no surprise the dialogue was fast, colorful, and rich. Whether or not it’s actually all true has been debated but the specter of authenticity is enough to stir up a little extra intrigue.
If filmmakers were measured on a Jedi scale, you’d have to think Scorsese would have a seat on the High Council (even if you don’t like his work, his seat at the table is not in question). He’s an Oscar winner and eight-time nominee for Best Director. That doesn’t happen by accident and, if you look back on it, he should probably have at least one more Academy Award and he just might get another one this time out. His fingerprints are all over this movie and there’s really no mistaking the cloth it was cut from. There’s no reinventing the wheel here, he’s more a tried-and-true kinda guy, especially when it comes to mafia movies. Whether it be the likable scoundrel or the duty-bound stalwart, there’s usually a reluctant hero at the center of it all…or at least a colorful raconteur. Then there’s the voiceover narration that has long been a signature staple in his repertoire of narrative techniques, due to the intimate insight it offers into his characters, and it never hurts to have Robert DeNiro handling that either. Obviously, Scorsese has had the benefit of exceptional casts but there’s a reason he attracts the upper echelon and that’s because he puts the actor first. His legacy as a filmmaker is most clearly defined by the quality of work he gets from his performers and he got some great ones here.
As you could have easily guessed, there were a number of high-quality performances throughout this film but it may be the last time we get to see this incredible group of actors together. As I mentioned, DeNiro takes top billing as Frank Sheeran and gives a classic performance but it’s Al Pacino who definitely steals the show as Jimmy Hoffa. Accurate or not, this was probably the most anybody has seen about him in more than 30 years. Hoffa was a larger-than-life character, which is what made his “disappearance” such a big deal at the time, and Pacino doesn’t disappoint. He and DeNiro were fantastic together and once that portion of the film gets going, they are so fun to watch and complement one another so well, you don’t even notice the time. Best Supporting Actor is going to be a very competitive field this year with so many remarkable performances but Pacino has to be in the discussion as well.
The supporting roles really helped to carve out the identity of this story and it wasn’t small parts either. Joe Pesci returned to play Russell Bufalino, the low-key head of the crime family of the same name. He hadn’t starred in a movie for almost a decade and this was a very toned down portrayal for someone who’s historically been such a high-energy entertainer. The subtle nature of the character, that quiet power, was a nice fit for the long-time Scorsese collaborator. While Pesci may not be the little fireball we remember, Stephen Graham picked up the slack as Tony Pro. He was a competing union organizer to Hoffa and watching the two of them go head-to-head made for some of the most enjoyable scenes. Graham has quietly built a very strong and diverse resume that’s made him one of the best character actors in the business. This film is loaded with so many excellent, smaller roles it’s making me consider adding a Best Ensemble Performance category for this year’s awards.
Among those many roles, there is a surprising amount of media attention being paid to Anna Paquin and her lack of dialogue as Sheeran’s daughter, Peggy. She’s a big name and her presence makes the audience subconsciously want to hear from her. That’s completely understandable but, contextually, her silence speaks volumes. The father/daughter relationship is fractured at a young age and that rift grows throughout the story. It’s in the absence of words where she gets to act and Paquin wears the discomfort and the anger well. Frank wants catharsis but as the curtain closes on his story, the absence of that bond is more apparent. From a casting standpoint, I’m not sure it had to be her in the role but the choice certainly drew a lot of attention to the character’s portrayal and that was probably the point.
Now let’s talk about the 70-year-old elephant in the room. This de-aging technology used extensively throughout the film is…at the very least…strange. The tech hadn’t really been rolled out on a large scale until now and the results are mixed. On the one hand, it’s the best iteration of this tech that we’ve seen to this point and it looks pretty good but that’s not saying much. There’s still a very unnatural look to the faces but turning back the clock a few decades was essential in telling this particular story and it mostly didn’t get in the way of the performances…mostly. On the other, let’s remember these guys (Pacino, DeNiro, & Pesci) are in their 70s and, despite advances in technology, they couldn’t de-age their bodies. It was rarely an issue (and maybe the ultra 4K HD didn’t help) but, in the instances where it was, the readily apparent fragility of these men really took me out of the moment.
There is an undeniable production quality that prevails in the end and lets you know you’ve seen a really well-made film but there’s also a glaring lack of originality. Growing up with Scorsese films, that indelible style is something you grow accustomed to and while The Irishman isn’t trying to be “original” it certainly displays his substantial experience and tremendous talent as a filmmaker. This was a much more intimate and cathartic love letter to a genre he helped pioneer and while I really wanted to love this movie, it just never quite got me all the way there. I enjoyed it thoroughly and recognize its merits but wouldn’t necessarily say this was the highlight of his career, more a culmination of a lifetime’s worth of work. Where this film winds up in the hierarchy of Scorsese’s catalog remains to be seen but, personally, it’s not in my top-five. That doesn’t mean it’s bad or that it shouldn’t be loved, it just means he has an incredible resume. Netflix is going to put some money behind an Oscar campaign regardless so you can expect to hear a lot more about it over the coming months.
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of Scorsese, it’s reminiscent of Casino, Goodfellas, and Gangs of New York so this is going to be right up your alley. If you’re not a fan, there’s more to take issue with. See it because it’s one of the year’s best films and for a glimpse into the future of digital facelifts.