Scorsese Returning to Old Form? Not Quite...

Rating: 6/10 (28 December 2019)

I've all the different reviews, and much of the negative ones made me not want to watch the movie. But I finally checked it out on Netflix. It didn't hold my attention in one full sitting, I broke it up into 3.
Now, I'm not sure why Scorsese needed to use deaging technology in this movie. Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should. Why not give some young, up-and-coming actors a chance? They could have done a good job playing the younger versions of the characters. Everyone looked like the old versions of themselves, except with darker hair. It was bizarre, like they were already old.
The story about Hoffa was interesting enough. Seeing the stuff that happened behind the scenes. And of course, one of the theories of what happened to him. That part of the movie was pretty good.
Some extraneous stuff that seemed unnecessary or padded the movie and could have been removed. Harvey Keitel - why was he in the movie? I guess he had to play Russel's boss, but was it necessary to even have him? He didn't really do much. He wasn't even menacing, if that was the intention. I love Keitel, but if you're going to have him in the film, at least give him a more lines.
The character of Peggy was unnecessary. I guess they wanted to have a central, family figure in Sheeran's life to show how his work took it's toll on them. But it felt forced, and unnecessary. Why have so much focus on Peggy as a little girl, weird focus. I didn't even realize Anna Paquin was playing that character until much later. It seemed pointless to have her play the older version.
Then there's the stuff that happens after Hoffa, it just drags on. The movie doesn't seem to know where to end. An extra 1/2 hr right there.
So while this movie had it's moments, and told an interesting story, the movie could have done with some generous editing.