Great Film But Ridiculously Long With Much Repetition

Rating: 8/10 (18 January 2020)

The Irishman
From the get go we had a musical reminder from the God-Father, I just knew where this movie was going lol.
What was good
We had of course some of the best method actors on the planet, as with Brando this is exhausting viewing, but I loved it.
How to decide who was more prominent of the three main leads to get an award is the major problem.
This was really a simple linear story with flashbacks, most helpful when the canvas of the movie was so large.
The styling and cinematography was comprehensive we really felt we were in the various time periods.
The intimate way the camera moved was great and entirely appropriate for movie.
What was problematic
The pace was virtually real time, slow to stop, drama is a compression of reality over conflict, this really did drag in places.
Repetition of many of the scenes and set pieces, I was sometimes thinking not again and yet again!
This needed to be cut down by at least an hour, the movie didn't gain anything by being baggy or lugubrious.
It became very much a "boys" movie, this was a directorial decision.
We had no redemption at all and because of this it ended up more of a documentary or blueprint on being a gangster.
Note to Netflix
We have had a series of movies that Netflix believes breaks new ground, from a movie without a script and actors that was Roma, from the kitchen sink that was Marriage Story and now a three and a half hour marathon. My advice find a "Hitchcock" or a "Lean" to create film history, thus far everything is forgettable.