Depressing

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2020)

Martin Scorsese and epic mobster movies pretty much go hand in hand with each other. It's not like Scorsese's only good with mob movies; but when its been a while since his last gangster film, it's almost euphoric seeing this movie come out. The Irishman is almost similar to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, where the director puts the same amount of love in his movie but instead of paying a tribute, it's more of what I love about his storytelling. Similar to Scorsese's other mob movies, it's extremely long and filled to the brim with history and details about the characters' lives. The long running time can easily deter people from watching it, so releasing it on Netflix can be both a positive and a negative. I wish I could've caught a screening to this film, I feel as if being trapped in the theater would've tempted me from not using my phone, even though I rarely used it either way. What kept me from being bored was all the history about Frank Sheeran's mob involvement, which is captured beautifully by Robert De Niro. It's amazing seeing his life being invaded with other mafiosos such as Russell Bufalino played excellently by Joe Pesci, who essentially came out of retirement for one last gig. The story takes its dramatic turn once Jimmy Hoffa, played by Al Pacino, is introduced to Frank. After that it becomes everything I love about Scorsese's mob films. Old School Music, dinosaur aged actors, and an overall meaning behind all the madness. Seeing the rise and fall of Frank Sheeran is extremely bleak compared to Henry Hill's in Goodfellas which almost lavishes itself with mobster lifestyle. The Irishman never glorifies the mob but instead shows its dirtier side, especially when its revealed what Frank did in his mob life. The movie left me in a pretty depressed state after seeing it all unfold but it nonetheless left an impression I won't forget.