A gripping tale of a mafia life

Rating: 8/10 (31 May 2005)

As far back as he could remember Henry Hill wanted to be a gangster. He got his wish and in GoodFellas we get to go along for the exciting ride. Before the opening titles have even concluded we get a clear sense of the very dangerous yet oddly thrilling lives Henry and his fellow gangsters lead. And the sense of excitement and wonder is maintained right up until the bitter end.
Ray Liotta is the nominal lead in his role as Henry from whose point of view the story is told. While Liotta is fine in his role Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito and Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway are even better. The boundless energy and manic temper Pesci brings to Tommy are absolutely perfect. Pesci's performance in the now-famous "I'm funny how?" scene is acting at its best. De Niro's performance is more subtle but also brilliant and his portrayal of Jimmy brings a sense of menace whenever he appears. Even though he is for the most part restrained, you know he is fully capable of exploding at any moment. Also giving fine performances are Lorraine Bracco as Henry's wife, Karen, and Paul Sorvino as the quiet, mysterious, yet undeniably powerful mob boss Paul Cicero.
GoodFellas depicts the rise and fall of Henry Hill in his life in the mafia. We follow him from his beginnings as a simple Brooklyn youth through dizzying highs and maddening lows. Henry is in effect telling his own story here through Liotta's voice-over narration and this device works well, filling in some blanks, helping to move the story along and also giving some insight into the motivations which drive his actions. We also get some insight from Karen's point of view as sporadic Bracco narration sheds some light on how a simple, naive girl gets swept up in the mob life.
The unique Martin Scorsese touch also adds a great deal to the experience. So many sequences are brilliantly conceived and perfectly executed. None is more memorable than the truly brilliant tracking shot where for over three unbroken minutes we follow Henry and Karen from the street outside the Copacabana nightclub down through the bowels of the club and right up to the front of the stage. Few directors would even imagine such a sequence much less be able to pull it off so wonderfully. Scorsese's use of music is also pitch-perfect as he seems to always be able to find just the right song to perfectly frame each moment. And as would be expected with Scorsese nothing is spared in terms of violence or language. Henry Hill and those around him led ruthless, violent, dangerous lives and Scorsese captures that wonderfully. Proceeding at its own pace, GoodFellas allows you to really get to know and appreciate these characters. Some might quibble and say things move along too slowly, that the pace could be picked up. But there is no denying that, overall, GoodFellas is absolutely terrific.