Finally got around to watch The Irishman. There was a bunch of hype surrounding this film back when it debuted in November. The hype carried to Oscar season as well, racking up 10 nominations. All of these were 100% well-deserved. This film is extremely good.
Starting off with my positives, I have to applaud Martin Scorsese. His direction is simply phenomenal. He helmed this mammoth, 209-minute film expertly. Similar to Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Scorcese takes his time crafting The Irishman. There are many quiet character moments throughout the film. You get the chance to live in their world and feel what the characters are going through. Whether it's sitting down to eat ice cream with Pacino's character or going to a bowling party with De Niro's character's family, we, as the audience, get to see small moments with these characters. I absolutely loved it. Too many films these days are too focused on progressing the plot, putting characters and small moments in the background. The Irishman let its characters shine. Scorcese also handles a lot of characters extremely well. It hit me while watching the film how many characters were introduced. However, Scorcese introduced and fleshed them out in such a way that we understand all of the important characters.
Speaking of the characters, the acting is fantastic. The trio of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci was masterful in their roles. I have no complaints regarding Pacino and Pesci's supporting actor Oscar nominations; they were well-deserved. De Niro shined the brightest throughout the film, however. He was extremely charismatic as Frank Sheeran. Frank Sheeran is a man who does terrible things, yet we still care for him because De Niro brings a certain likeability to the role. The de-aging effects used on De Niro throughout the film's runtime looked great. It was hardly noticeable once I got used to the fact that he going to look that young.
Technically speaking this film is absolutely fantastic. The cinematography is beautiful, definitely deserving the Oscar nom. The editing is also nearly flawless. All of the scenes flow together perfectly; all of the editing during said scenes are nearly perfect as well. The production design is also a standout. This film spands several decades; every scene looks perfectly accurate to the said time period. Though it wasn't nominated for any Oscars, I loved the soundtrack in the film. It was extremely jazz-heavy. I thought it fit the film well and sounded great
As for my negatives, I do think The Irishman is a bit too long. Obviously, this is one of the most talked-about aspects of the film. I do think the 3-hour and 30-minute runtime is a bit too long. Some scenes just go on a little too long.
In conclusion, The Irishman was an experience. It was the longest film I watched in 2019 (2020 technically). I don't regret watching this film in the slightest. Though I don't think I will find myself watching The Irishman any time soon, it was a fantastic film; it was Scorcese at his finest.
8.5/10
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