"I heard you paint houses."

Rating: 10/10 (15 October 2019)

Watched at LFF 2019 Closing Night Gala.
Well, those three and a half hours flew by graciously. This is a hefty, meaty film. De Niro, Pacino & Pesci - ALL phenomenal. Pacino especially stole the show for me. What Martin Scorsese accomplishes here is something of a cross between GoodFellas and The Wolf of Wall Street, with sprinklings of the rest of his work throughout.
The de-aging (which seems to be the talk at the moment) is pretty solid. Once you adjust your eyes, you forget it's even there. I will say though, the actors are old now, and they clearly don't move like they used to. So it's not so much the 'younger skin' that would be a giveaway, but the way in which the actors move and carry themselves.
It is a long film. But not once did I feel like it was outstaying its welcome. The last hour and a half was particularly enjoyable for me - there were some real nice moments between several characters. The script is juicy, with a mix of hilarity, preciseness, and even a little poignancy.
It may be the post-film hype talking here, but I think The Irishman is Scorsese's best. It's certainly my favourite piece from him. It feels like a farewell. We'll see how that fares when I rewatch next month on its official release.