Pesci Steals The Movie

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 2019)

I just watched The Irishman
I really enjoyed it, possibly a Top 10 of the year for me, but it is more than a tad self indulgent. It's ridiculously over long, it could have lost half an hour (if not 40 minutes) and it wouldn't have missed a step. It shows a lot of similar scenes a few times, just to hammer some points home.
Robert De Niro is great!! its not one of his best ever performances, but he is the best he has been in years. Joe Pesci is wonderfully understated, he has lost none of his acting ability during his retirement, and is awesome (I think only the sheer amount of competition could keep him out of a best supporting actor nod) and like De Niro, Al Pacino is the best I have seen him in years (although I think Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is the only movie I have seen him in this decade) I think him and Pesci have the best chance of Oscar nominations, and I'm surprised that I'm saying that, as De Niro is great!! But again, I think the amount of solid competition, could keep him out.
The Deaging is not up to the quality of Michael Douglas in Ant-Man or Smith In Gemini Man (except that awful last scene) which for me is the high bar set for deaging!! For me, it is not THAT distracting once you are into it. What is a bit of a problem is they still move like (and have the hands of) a 70 year old man. It is very apparent in a scene where De Niro beats someone up early on.
Harvey Kietel is simply window dressing here. I think he has three scenes. Bobby Canavale is also under used. Someone I did like was Ray Romano, he surprised me with a fine dramatic turn. As has been mentioned a lot, Anna Paquin does not have a lot of lines. I think she only spoke once. But she does a lot without talking!! Stephen Graham (an actor I like) is solid too.
Mesmerising at times, dragging it's feet at others!! There was a period of about 60 minutes where I was busting for the toilet, but I don't want to pause it lol I do not get why it was hoping all over its time line, if he is telling the story, it should have had a more straight narrative line, but its so good seeing De Niro and Pacino in something good again, as they have both being coasting/sleepwalking through their movies, but here they knock it out if the park!!
The soundtrack is not on par with Scorcese's best, far from it. La Vie En Rose and In The Still Of The Nights are the only tracks I noticed and the score didn't register for me.
For me it's behind Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed, as it's pacing really bogs it down, but I enjoyed it.