Scorsese has done it again

Rating: 10/10 (6 December 2019)

This movie proves that Scorsese is probably the only director of his generation who can still create masterpieces like this, at this age. He has managed to stay as relevant as he was during the 70s and 80s, without being overshadowed by the new and young filmmakers. The Irishman definitely ranks among the very best of his filmography.
Eventhough there are a few familiar faces and tropes from Scorcese's older movies like Casino and goodfellas, the Irishman is distinctively different from those movies in its themes. While we see Henry Hill from goodfellas look back at his gangster life as something he deeply loved and missed, here we see Frank Sheeran facing the pain, guilt and regret that his actions has brought upon him because of the life he chose. The movie also deals with complex themes such as loyalty, death, friendship and guilt. Frank Sheeran's life as a hitman and his relationships with Jimmy hoffa and Russell Buffolino forms the central narrative of the movie. Steven Zaillian's exceptional screenplay, Scorcese's direction and the performances, managed to thoroughly flesh out the characters and their relationships. Despite being over three hours long, the movie successfully keeps us engrossed from beginning to end. The performances by De Niro, Pacino and Pesci are top notch and are among the best in their entire career. Joe Pesci, who steals every scene he is in, proves his incredible range and versatility as he plays Russell Buffolino, who is nothing like the hot-headed psychopaths he is known for playing in goodfellas and casino. Seeing these legends together in which could probably be their last on screen performance together, was incredibly delightful.
The digital de-aging was extremely well done for the most part, eventhough it is slightly noticeable in a few scenes. There is also a scene where where De Niro's body movements clearly resembles an old man. But that is such a trivial issue and wasn't distracting due to the incredible performances, direction and screenplay