It IS Long, but Well Worth the Time

Rating: 9/10 (3 December 2019)

I understand that when you see the running time is over three hours, you are going to say, Hell no." Please stop and think and then watch this film. It is slow, it is not action-packed, it is nearly 100% characters. But as you watch De Niro and Pesci and Pacino and Romano and the brief appearance of Keitel, you know that you are watching master-craftsmen doing some of their best work and showing you some history that too many of us have forgotten.
I know that 21 century film goers want a breakneck pace with something happening every 3-4 second and with lots of jump cuts to maintain the unbearable space. Scorsese takes us back to a time when we wanted a break and the escape movies give us. This movie--if nothing else--is a master class in the older film-making techniques with some CGI added in. Watch the extra clip with DeNiro, Scorsese, Pesci, and Pacino talking about the effects used and the directing insights required as the stars age from their 30s and 40s into their 80s. Then watch the movie to relish this experience even more.
Pesci is the real draw for me in this film. He plays against his manic type and come across as the wise mobster who know the ways of the world and can simply get action by saying, "That's the way it is."
I have loved De Niro's work since "Taxi Driver" (1976) and "Raging Bull" (1980). He does not disappoint us as he ages before our eyes and we realize that his amazing talent will be gone from us at some time in the future. That realization saddens me, but this same realization intensifies my viewing this opus and others from De Niro.
Pacino's work for me has ben on and off over the years. I appreciate his performance is "The Godfather" saga. I like his work as the devil (aka John Milton) in "The Devil's Advocate" (1997). Other things are sleepers for me ("Heat" (1995) and "Dick Tracy" (1990) are two quick examples.) Here he shows us Jimmy Hoffa--whom, I know, most of you have never heard of. He brings his larger than life persona to the fore here and it works.
To confess, I have not been a fan of Ray Romano. I believe my father in law's 24/7 watching of "Everybody Loves Raymond" is responsible for my negative viewing of his work. But here--he plays a lawyer with a verve that is making me reconsider my prejudice and encourages me to see more of his work.
Keitel is one screen way too little in "The Irishman." From "The Mean Streets" to The Wolf in "Pulp Fiction" to George Baines in "The Piano," I admire his work and was pleased when I saw him here. Regrettably, his time was too short.
I can't help but think of what Scorsese is doing with the last scene. De Niro is bound to a wheelchair and he has been visited by a priest. As the priest leaves, De Niro asks him to leave the door open a bit. The camera cuts to a long shot of De Niro sitting there then go to black with end credits. I see in this short an echo of the closing shot of John Ford's "The Searchers" (1956). There, John Wayne is outside but the door closes on his face and closes on the end of the vision of the American West. Is Scorsese, likewise, suggesting a potential end of an era here? Please watch "The Irishman" and post your assessment here. If you don't post, see "The Irishman" and relish this opportunity of experiencing great art!