A Fantastic Piece of Filmmaking

Rating: 10/10 (5 December 2019)

I may be missing one or two that have been released over the last decade, but the last time I remember really liking a film based around the mob was probably American Gangster back in 2007. Netflix has been on fire lately with their feature films. From last year's Roma winning Best Foreign Film and now The Irishman winning many awards, along with their upcoming release in Marriage Story, they are proving to be a genuine film studio. At a very lengthy 209 minutes, The Irishman has now finished its film festival run and is now streaming on Netflix. I'm not going to beat around the bush. This film is simply one of the best films of 2019 by far and possibly even the decade.
Based on the true story, Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) is a recently fired truck driver who has stumbled his way into becoming a mobster, teaming up with leader Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Chronicling these events through the years, we get to see a large portion of the life of this man and how his past has now become his permanent present. With the addition of Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), this film is filled with rich characters. You definitely can't complain about the main characters being underdeveloped here, because their amount of screentime and endless dialogue make for a very fleshed out piece of filmmaking.
Superbly directed by Martin Scorsese, I would say this movie is his best work since Hugo or The Departed, but this film is better than both of those in my opinion. Although I haven't seen his entire filmography, I would have to go back to Goodfellas from 1990 to find a better film of his. I found The Irishman (although slightly long) to be his best film in many, many years. Each frame of this movie screams filmmaking and I was glued to the screen from start to finish. This film deserves all the attention it's getting and Scorsese is a major reason for that.
Writing films like Schindler's List and Moneyball, Steven Zaillian is no stranger to penning award-worthy screenplays, and while I believe he absolutely deserves all the attention in the world once again, it's really Charles Brandt who stands out to me. Having hardly written anything noteworthy before teaming up with Zaillian, I'm very impressed at his work here. I'm not sure who contributed more, but for a writer who is only just beginning to build a resume, it doesn't get much better than this. Bravo sir.
I could gush about this movie for hours, but I'll wrap it up. The Irishman proves that Martin Scorsese will never lose touch as a director, seeing this trio of actors on-screen will probably never happen again, the cinematography is Oscar-worthy, the deserves to win many awards, and I wouldn't be surprised if this film takes home many of the top prizes this year. Yes, it's a little long, but it's incredibly engaging. The length is really my only minor nitpick. Other than that, this film is one of the best films in recent years and will probably be remembered as a Scorsese classic in the years to come.