The Irishman

Rating: 8/10 (29 November 2019)

The Irishman is directed by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, and tells the story of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro),a mob hitman who recalls his possible involvement with the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.
The Irishman, as of now, has been long awaited by many, including myself, and I personally believe the result of the film is worth the wait. Scorsese is with no doubt a master, and The Irishman is masterfully helmed. His skilful using of the de-aging visual effects is impressive and respectable enough, however, he remains a strong storyteller throughout the entire film, as I found The Irishman thoroughly engaging throughout, despite the 3 hour 30 minute runtime which, thanks to the excellent editing from Thelma Schoonmaker, was never present in my mind.
The Irishman is also excellently written, features stunning acting from De Niro, Pacino, and Joe Pesci, and makes excellent usage of the mise en scene, as the period of time, as well as constant progression of this time, was very well conveyed without the needing to explain directly to us.
Although riveting, I suppose The Irishman could have been trimmed down slightly, and the relationship Sheeran conveyed with his wife and family could have been better developed. There were also some very minor technical issues, mostly in the visual effects, yet, on the whole, I thought The Irishman was excellent, never resulting or feeling the need to be a challenging piece of art, but instead meeting that perfect balance of being an accesable, crowd-pleasing feature, meanwhile conveying enough flair and unique qualities to cement it as something more different to the typical Hollywood film.