A Meditative and Well Made Goodbye to the Gangster Genre

Rating: Null/10 (28 November 2019)

First of all, this is not Goodfellas or Casino. While those movies were fast and exciting takes on the gangster genre, The Irishman is a slower and meditative take on the gangster genre. Those movies are about excess, but this movie is about regret and the emptiness of the gangster lifestyle. We've seen this type of meditative gangster movie before with The Godfather Part 3 and Once Upon a Time in America, but The Irishman is head and shoulders above those movies because of the history between the actors.
The best thing about this movie are the performances. i got a little emotional seeing all of these incredible actors and knowing that this might be the last time they're all on the same screen together, and there is one scene where Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, and Harvey Kartel are all in the same room, and it might be the best scene of the year. Joe Pesci gives a quiet performance that will shock people who's expecting him to give another Casino type performance, Al Pacino gives an energetic and memorable performance, but this is Robert De Niro's movie and he's absolutely brilliant definitely in the last few scenes when he's grappling with his sins.
Overall, this is a very well made and well acted goodbye to the genre that made nearly everybody involved with this movie who they are. Also, the last hour of this movie is some of the best filmmaking of Scorsese's career. Yes this movie is slow and yes it's long, but if you give this movie all of your attention, you will find that there's something powerful about it.