Martin Scorsese, the filmmaker who is known to elevate the excellence in crime drama, is back with the familiar magic once again to keep us bound to the seats for 3 hours 29 mins. Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci reunite in this new venture that’s based on Charles Bandt’s book I Heard You Paint Houses.
Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) narrates the events of his life since the day he used to be a truck driver till he rises to be one of the most important men in the mob world. The history of Scorsese – De Niro filmography speaks for itself to fancy this new arrival enough to relish it right away.
The Irishman offers a distinct feeling and experience that showcases the incapability of a hit-man to escape his dilemma in order to protect his own. He prioritizes his loyalty on the job because it’s how he respects the man who showed him how the job gets done. Joe (Russ) and Robert (Frank) shares an immense chemistry on the screen. And so does Al Pacino (Jimmy) and Robert. Joe is not the usual on screen firecracker in this gangster movie. He counters his style. He is a man of few words but still he keeps himself at the center of menace.
A binding desolation of the film is the guilt that engulfs the gangsters. Frank leads his life owing to the man who had his back all his life, even when he is put on a tough spot to go against his loyalty. Robert brings out the sheer brilliance in his game just how he always does. Guilt grasps him tightly and his silence too is more painfully expressed.
Al Pacino (Jimmy) steals the film with his wit. He is less malicious and makes us root for him in the film. That is Scorsese’s trademark, which is, he makes us want to root for the bad guys. He lets us to get into their heads and understand how they feel. We understand their guilt, their reason for putting their loyalty ahead of themselves.
It’s a tribute to the combination of such an ensemble casts for once again to witness their prowess. The Irishman is a testament of its genre that leisurely takes its time to interweave some brilliant details from real life. It leaves you with a heavy heart for knowing the secret that can’t be shared out of your conscience.
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