Gangsters should die a violent death

Rating: 6/10 (13 January 2020)

In an average gangsters movie, one tends to focus on the body count and on the many ways criminals can inflict suffering to each other and people at large.
In this one, we follow the reminiscences of geriatric Irish gangster Frank Sheeran. While rotting away alone in a retirement home, Frank thinks about the good old days of his ascent in the mob and especially, his friendship with Hoffa.
Light is shed on Kennedy's assassination (yet again) and on Hoffa "disappearance", even if at this stage few would remember who he was. Sheeran is depicted as a slightly psychopathic killer who somehow managed to save his skin, despite many tricky situations..
Being busy killing people here and there and bodyguarding Hoffa, meant that Frank neglected his family, hence the solitary ending, despite having a few daughters.
De Niro as Frank, Pacino as Hoffa and Joe Pesci as gangster Bufalino do a good job, as it should be expected. Much has been written about their computer generated "rejuvenation". I found it distracting, because their younger versions do not look like them as young people. Think about De Niro in Taxi Driver and it is definitely NOT who you will see in the early sequences of this movie, but a younger version of what De Niro looks like now. Very, very weird.
Finally, even knowing that Sheeran was a criminal does nothing to decrease the gloom and sadness of seeing this decrepit man, all alone on a wheelchair, wasting away, forgotten but not forgiven. If ever there was a reminder that crime does not pay, especially if you live too long, this is it. But it does not make for enjoyable entertainment.