The Irishman

Now available on Netflix, The Irishman is the latest film by Martin Scorsese. The movie is based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses which is about the life of mafia hitman Frank Sheeran. It's also is a reteaming of Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci who had previously starred in two other Scorsese crime films (which happen to be two of my favorite movies); Goodfellas in 1990 and Casino in 1995.

This is a good movie. A very good movie in fact, although that shouldn't be much of a surprise as Scorsese is one of the all-time great filmmakers and mafia stories are kind of his sweet spot. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Goodfellas or Casino but, it did surpass my expectations. I guess because it was a Netflix movie I thought it might be a lesser Scorsese film and also, to be fair, Pesci was retired and De Niro has been phoning it in the past few years. Alongside those two, the film also features the likes of Al Pacino, Bobby Cannavale, Harvey Keitel, and Ray Ramano who's surprisingly really in good in this movie. 

One thing that may turn a few people away is the runtime. It's long, like three and half hours long. However, I think it earns just about every minute of that runtime. I didn't read the Charles Brandt book I Heard You Paint Houses but, I did read up a bit on Frank Sheeran in the lead up to this movie's release. This is a lot of story to condense, and I think the film nailed it. It's well-written, expertly directed, and all of the actors brought their A-game. I highly recommend checking this one out, especially if you're a fan of films about organized crime. 

It's easily one of my favorites of 2019, and I give it 4.5 out of 5.