A brilliantly executed story of organised crime

Rating: 9/10 (30 September 2017)

This movie is held up as one of the great Mafia movies of all time, and for good reason. Over the course of the film, we are the shown the Mafia lifestyle through the eyes of our narrator, Henry Hill. Our other main characters are Tommy DeVito and Jimmy Conway, Henry's mob partners who often show the more gruesome parts of Mafia dealings. Ray Liotta (Henry), Joe Pesci (Tommy), and Jimmy (Robert De Niro) bring in brilliant performances that makes truly invested in these characters and makes them feel more than simply actors within the film.
The plot of the film follows Henry through his childhood through to his adult life and his associations with the Mafia. This film does a fantastic job at first sucking the viewer in to the sense that the mafia isn't so bad as we see the mobsters accepting Henry as their own and their seemingly affable nature, which can be seen especially in Jimmy. As Henry grows up however the audience begins to see the more violent and amoral dealings of the Mafia that shatter the image of the romantic life that was presented at the beginning as well as other portrayals of Mafia in the media.
Something that also has to be mentioned is Martin Scorsese's use of music and sound within the film. Music within the film helps to both capture the time period of the 50's all the way through to the 70's as well as relate to the situation at hand. It gives the film a good rhythm and pace that makes each scene interesting to watch and flows easily into one another, leaving you on the edge of your seat as it makes the two and a half hour run-time feel short as every minute engrosses you into the reality of the film.
Overall, a quintessential film for any fan of Mafia movies or film buffs, as well as one of the best films to introduce you to Scorsese's work.