Filmed with a ferocious verve and cinematic yet fly-on-the-wall feel.

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2018)

While an argument could be made that 'Goodfellas (1990)' perhaps comes dangerously close to glamourising the gangster lifestyle it portrays, this sprawling and relentless picture depicts three-decades of mob life through the eyes of a real-life ex-mafioso who entered into the witness protection program in the early 1980s and ultimately manages to maintain an impartial stance by simply portraying all the events the way they are remembered to have occurred. Our protagonist also never actually kills anyone and his desperate, drug-fuelled downfall is just as detailed as his seduced start. Scorsese directs the piece with a real ferocious verve and the improvised dialogue lends a genuinely unpredictable edge to most sequences, leading to an almost fly-on-the-wall feel even though the techniques used are inherently cinematic. When the violence explodes onto the screen, it is just as shocking as you'd expect it to be. The only downside of all this is that the already long film feels even longer due to the fast-pace and sheer amount of scenes - a minor complaint since it's all so entertaining. 8/10