old man Scorsese

Rating: 7/10 (17 January 2020)

Elderly Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) in a nursing home recounts his life in the mob. He murders prisoners in WWII. He drives a truck and steals slabs of beef from the back. He is caught but he wins his trial. He is introduced to various mob bosses and befriends Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci). He becomes the right hand man of Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino).
They don't make directors like Martin Scorsese anymore and they don't make movies like this anymore. Quite frankly, at two and a half hour, this may fit better as a TV mini-series. Only his name makes this a cinematic experience. While it is beautifully filmed, nothing really screams big screen. It is detailed and methodical. The problem is that it is a movie about a cold-hearted character. He is unmoved about his violent ways until the last act. His criminality is not fun. His brutality has no humanity. He is psychopath and not an enjoyable one. It is a movie from the past, by the past, and about the past. While I am in awe of the filmmaking expertise, I find the character has limited appeal. Scorsese is going over old grounds. His perfect movies have already been made. This can never exceed them.