No one is likely to say this gangster movie romanticizes their way of life, or that it is filmed with operatic intensity; or that it has sequences that are thrilling, with violence staged in creative ways that make them almost fun to watch. Scorsese here is not only refusing to imitate other directors' works (Coppola, DePalma, Penn) - he's not even imitating himself. If it weren't for the cast, it would be hard to
even peg this as a Scorsese movie. The ordinary, almost casual tone gradually becomes chilling as we sense we are watching people very much like ourselves - and they are monsters. They drive our trucks, run our factories, live just down the street, and maybe even end up in our nursing homes. Their evil has tentacles that reach as far as the top levels of our government. THE IRISHMAN is a truly great American movie, masterfully directed from a rich screenplay by Steven Zaillian, with DeNiro, Pacino and Pesci perfectly in tune with the project. The year's best? - Certainly.
Review of The Irishman
