'We did it again...did we??'

Rating: 7/10 (30 November 2019)

I don't understand why Scorsese made The Irishman. Nothing new under the sun, old wine in new bags.
Or... Scorsse created a 'swan song' to honor his own career of beautiful maffia movies . If that is the case, then he has more than succeeded. But not for the reasons he might have hoped for.
First of all - in terms of storyline - the lives of the main-characters run somewhat pathetic to their end. This depressive fact is reinforced by Scorsese's casting; his old friends and loyal actors. They gave us the most beautiful performances - most of the time under Scorsese's direction. But after that, these men went down career-wise, acting in forgettable trash and they grew older....much older.
So, Scorsese pulled these actors somewhat posthumously out of their creative lethargy and pushed them into this far too long film.
To "do it" one more time.
The hopelessness of this attempt is even more emphasized by the fact that due to poor make-up, these hero's of the past, officially old and winkled, are - in the mostly flash-back sequences - walking around like display-mannequins. Its irritating.
This could not have been your intention, Mr S.
The Irishman is a failure not only in terms of script - nothing happens - , not only because there is a serious mis-cast in terms of age, but also because the actors play so bad; the energy is gone. Are they bad actors? No, they simply have to act an energy that doesnt fit the energy of their age; the 'age-gap' is simply to big.
PS: IDe Niro - who is know to me for these somewhat chilly, surious little eyes - has now, older, these large, deep, emotional and compassionate eyes and expression. Beautiful in full close up. Put this actor in a role that fits his age - an Eastwood movie, or something like On Golden Pond - and he will deliver a power and depth he never had before.
And why do i rate this movie a 7? Well......because the production is really beautiful and Scorsese and these old men, after all, gave us so much beauty before. Too much to be nullified by this superfluous vehicle.