Martin Scorsese has had a long and prosperous career but it seems he has yet another trick up his sleeve. His new film, The Irishman released in a limited theatrical run at the beginning of this month. Tomorrow, November 27, will mark its long-awaited release on Netflix and we are all as excited as the next person. Not only has Scorsese teamed up with long-time friend and partner, Robert DeNiro but has brought in gangster film alumni like Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel and has brought Joe Pesci back to the big screen along with performances from Ray Ramano, Anna Paquin, and Jesse Plemons.
The Story
The Irishman follows Frank Sheeran (played by DeNiro) who recounts his storied life and possible involvement with the killing of the notorious Jimmy Hoffa (played by Pacino). Sheeran is an everyman who fought in Italy during World War II and came to the United States working as a laborer before getting caught up in the Bufalino Crime family. He begins with small jobs, passed down to him from his friend Russell (played by Pesci) before things escalate and his newfound job is as a hitman. It’s a story of loyalty, one man in the middle of two demanding his attention, it’s his choice who he chooses to follow.
Movie Magic
In an interview on Jimmy Fallon, The Irishman star, Robert DeNiro discussed the CGI in the film. Being a gangster film with practical sets you may wonder what CGI may be in it. DeNiro plays his same character through almost four decades, and in each, they are able to de-age the star actor to fit in the timeline. They go back as far as showing a twenty-something-year-old DeNiro fighting in WWII, to his forties working in the Bufalino crime family and even up to his eighties as he then tells his story to us.
It is truly amazing what we are capable of now. Fallon even went on to talk about how we have seen some of this technology before, notably Robert Downey Jr as IronMan but not to this extent.
Judging from the previews and the glimpses we see of DeNiro de-aged it really does look amazing and most of the film takes place with a younger version of himself. It will be interesting and exciting to see how well it looks and holds up through a long period of screen time.
Early Reviews
Having a short theatrical release, some have seen The Irishman already and on IMDB it boasts an 8.7 rating. In the 195 user reviews it currently has, you’d be hard-pressed to find a review that held it under 8, as a number of the reviews are perfect 10s, with fans and viewers praising Martin Scorsese and all the actors involved. One reviewer simply lays it out as, “To call it “good” is to call DaVinci a finger painter”.
Of course, you should watch the film for yourself and decide if it’s really as great as these people say.
Netflix Release
It isn’t 100% known when the title will release, but since Netflix is headquartered on the West Coast, new releases usually come out at around midnight PST, which is 3 a.m. EST.
Tomorrow is also Thanksgiving for people in the United States, maybe making it a difficult day to sit down and watch a 3.5-hour movie. Oh yeah! The Scorsese gangster epic clocks in at 3.5 hours! Making this more of an event for most viewers. Whether you watch it after a hefty dinner or make it part of your family’s Thanksgiving plans you won’t want to miss it!
In Closing
Martin Scorsese has directed classics like Taxi Driver, Gangs of New York and of course, Goodfellas. With The Irishman boasting a world-class cast and being helmed by him I personally think it will be one of his greats. The early reviews are hard to ignore and with nearly everyone already subscribing to Netflix, you have don’t have much to lose by watching this film. You can check out the latest trailer for it below.
