May always be my favourite movie

Rating: 10/10 (5 February 2020)

I feel drawn to give Goodfellas a review right now, likely because it's been approximately a decade since I first watched it, and also because it turns 30 this year (oh, and Scorsese's fantastic The Irishman has been on my mind a whole lot since I saw it a few months back). I loved Goodfellas the first time I watched it, and on every rewatch I've given it in the past 10 years, it's only gotten better and better. I could watch it every year or two and I don't think I'd ever get tired of it.
Of course when a film this great is loved by so many people, what can I say about it that's interesting or fresh? All I can really do is add my voice to the already existing sea of people praising Goodfellas and offer my opinion that yeah, it really is that good. It deserves its classic status despite not being as old as we'd maybe usually consider a 'classic,' as well as despite of the fact that it really doesn't feel old at all. The main thing that dates Goodfellas is that we know it's old because of how much younger still recognisable stars like DeNiro and Pesci look now.
Speaking of DeNiro and Pesci: they're both absolutely fantastic. DeNiro is a little more understated here than he is in some of his best and most hard-hitting performances (namely Raging Bull and Taxi Driver, two other great Scorsese films), but Pesci delivers the role of his career here. He's fantastic: so terrifying and despicable, but also funny and bizarrely human. I think the relationship with his mother (played by Scorsese's adorable real life mum) humanises him to a degree, and Pesci does such a great job at showing why everyone around his character fears and respects him that I think some of that rubs off on you as an audience member. You can't help but like him while you also hate him.
Ray Liotta deserves praise too, as he largely carries the movie, and despite not quite being a big star on the same level as DeNiro or Pesci, he really is just as good here, and delivers a performance as good as those two give. His voiceover narration is also one of my favourites out of any film I've ever watched. Lorraine Bracco is also great, and it's good to get a surprisingly compelling female perspective on the mob lifestyle. She's something of an audience surrogate, so well-implemented you might not even realise it at first; her mix of horror and awe at the life she finds herself in I think mirrors what most of us would feel if put into a similar situation. I'm glad she also got a chance to shine throughout The Sopranos too, because she's an immensely talented actress that although having those two great roles, probably deserved better.
The rest of the cast could well be worth mentioning too, but then we'd be here forever. Even minor supporting characters with one or two lines are incredibly memorable (Jimmy Two Times, Jimmy Two Times!!) And then I could go on and on about the amazing soundtrack, with every single song choice being absolutely perfect and adding so much energy. And then there's Thelma Schoonmaker's editing, and based on her track record with Scorsese, these two complement each other so well. In all honesty, the editing in Goodfellas is not only Schoonmaker's best work, it might well be one of the best edited movies of all time- the pacing is perfect, and two and a half hours flies by yet without anything feeling rushed or hasty. And Scorsese... he'll always be one of my favourite filmmakers, and I love that even now he's still giving it his all and making great films (his last three as of the time of writing, The Wolf of Wall Street, Silence, and the aforementioned The Irishman were all great and amongst the best of their respective years). Still, Goodfellas might well be his best work. Everything feels so complete and right and perfectly put together. It is an impeccably well crafted film, with every shot, every camera movement, every editing trick, every song, and every line of dialogue adding something and making the film as good as it can be.
I always find myself in awe of films when they're as good as this one. The compliments I could throw at this movie may well be endless, but in less than 1000 words here I've probably said enough, especially given it's not hard to find other people who love this movie who've already said much of what I've said and then some. It's absolutely worth a watch if you haven't gotten around to it yet for whatever reason, and even if you have, it's just as worthy of a rewatch. Like I said, from personal experience, I notice something new and gain a new sense of appreciation for it every time I revisit it. It's inspiring and wonderful that a film this great can exist, and it will stick with me and surely remain a personal favourite of mine until the day I die.