The wise guys

Rating: 10/10 (24 September 2007)

"Goodfellas" is Martin Scorsese's movie about Henry Hill, who aspires to be a gangster from an early age and becomes involved with an Italian-American crime family over three decades. The film features interesting and effective cinematography and it was notable how the shots were filmed in the "drugs" portion of the film. The soundtrack featured a number of notable songs like the end of "Layla" and "Jump Into the Fire".
The performances in this film are top-notch. Ray Liotta plays Henry Hill effectively as he lives with the perks and dangers of mob life. Robert De Niro delivers an interesting and refined performance as Jimmy Conway. Joe Pesci is memorable as the erratic and disturbing Tommy DeVito. Lorraine Bracco is also commendable as Henry's wife and Paul Sorvino makes a convincing mob boss.
This film develops an interesting story with surprising and interesting developments that keep the film well-paced. It explores the tightly contained lives of the members of the mob family. In addition, it has an interesting examination of the privileges afforded to the mob and the consequences of the mob's power. Also explored are the implications of mob life for Henry's relationship with his wife. "Goodfellas" is an exceptional entry into the crime film genre.