Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

The Irishman 

This is the best film of the decade! Wow what a masterpiece I am speechless Martin Scorsese has crafted one of the best films of his entire career. This film packs truly mesmerizing performances from all three of its actors on top of the incredible shocking true story on top of that and then you have the deep emotional deep layers that Scorsese packs into this that left my jaw dropped. The Irishman is a epic theirs so many words I can use to describe it but Epic keeps coming to my mind this is a crime epic for the ages that is on a level and caliber we will never see again. This is a film that stands next to the greatest films ever made and a true cinematic achievement made by cinema royalty. 

Firstly, Their is so much I have to say about this film and I am starting with the performances the cast in this film is one of the best assembled cast films ever. Scorsese brings film legends such as Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci all giving their best work in years. Robert De Niro gives his best leading performance in years as he brings an emotional restraint to his performance and then by the final hour just pours it all out and it’s a performance that truly amazed me he left me in a puddle of tears De Niro is a tour de force. Then you have Al Pacino who gives the firecracker performance of Jimmy Hoffa and gives a scene stealing performance that is easily his best performance in a very long time he brings such a toughness but also a softness to his performance that is so well acted and so well presented by Pacino it’s a outstanding performance. Then theirs Joe Pesci who gives a performance unlike anything he’s ever done ever. If I look back on his films with Scorsese I remember him for Raging Bull and Casino and Goodfellas now two out of three of those characters were very loud and very showy in the sense it was very loud and packed with many scenes of intense emotional expression where here he is very emotionally restrained and he is so chilling and scary but he is very quiet unlike anything I’ve seen Joe show not just in a Scorsese film but in anything he’s ever done he can express so much and be so emotive through saying things so quietly or with his eyes and it’s such a gripping performance That is phenomenal. Then you have a lot of the other actors like Stephen Graham who gives a fantastic supporting turn here in one of his best performances yet truly having incredible moments of sheer emotional intensity. Then theirs Harvey Keitel who even though it’s a small role gives a great performance for the screen time he’s given everyone in this film all gave outstanding performances no matter how big or small the role was everyone was fantastic amazing performances across the board. 

Secondly, Martin Scorsese has crafted what I think is the most personal film he has ever done. Scorsese has tackled a lot of themes over the years in his films but this one stands out to me as his most personal as I feel Scorsese could not of made this film if he was in his forties as the film discusses themes that you feel later in life in your twilight years and that is exactly what Martin Scorsese has done. He brings the perfect epilogue and closing chapter to the crime and gangster genre he helped define with this very poetic ending to the genre he helped define. The film is unlike anything he has done in the crime genre before as in his previous films specifically the crime and gangster films he has done he has always shown the high life of those people and the fast paced life they led and the ultra violence that came with it. Sure in films like Goodfellas and Casino we see the rise and fall of those characters over the course of the film but here it is different because in films like Goodfellas it is more about the high life and the style of being a gangster and it shows the downfall sure but not like how the Irishman does. This film shows the consequences to their actions and how those decisions they make forever change their lives as this film tackles some very heavy topics it talks about Death, friendship, trust, loyalty and betrayal as well as family and Scorsese brings this very sombre tone to the film. The film really brings a very deep and layered look at the life in the criminal life and it dose not glamorize it as it shows the consequences and the impact of what their choices makes and Scorsese always brings a certain amount of Catholic tone or meaning to his films and here he brings that here and it is so well shown and executed as well. This film is so great he explores the darkness of the soul of the criminal life but also the result of that has done to this mans life who by the twilight years of his life then realizes and asks himself what have I done. It is one of Scorsese’s best films I would put it in my top five favourite films of his as this is a masterful film as he explores themes that he goes so deep as he shows how this man had a family and a career and he gave it in for a life of crime  but at what cost did he have to pay to have the criminal lifestyle what did he have to trade in to have that I can tell you his life. Scorsese made me laugh at certain points of the film then totally dazzled and then crying from the emotional investment I have in the characters and the story. He has once again shown even in the later part of his life he shows people why he is the cinematic genius that he is as he has crafted another great film but this goes beyond the word great it is a cinematic achievement. 

Lastly,Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven is the true last great Western that really was and still is not been surpassed ever since This is Martin Scorsese’s epilogue to the crime gangster genre he helped redefine and pours the most of himself personally theme wise into his film as the film is a three hour and twenty nine minute film that is perfect I wouldn’t want it any shorter the runtime was perfect and it went at a lightning pace as the film shows the consequences of the criminal lifestyle and towards the end of their lives they think what have I done the film is incredibly rich and layered in deep meaning that will affect you emotionally on top of the truly extraordinary performances from its three actors This is a fitting close to Scorsese’s crime films as I would say this is a film that is one of the greatest films ever made and a true cinematic masterpiece that is a work of beautiful art.

Based on a true story This film chronicles  the life of Frank Sheeran a man who tells the story of his relationship inside the criminal world and his relationship with Jimmy Hoffa and what led up to the disappearance of Hoffa. 

Rated R : for pervasive language and strong violence

Robert De Niro : De Niro delivers one of his best leading role performances In years! Robert De Niro to me Is the best actor of all time and the thing is he is a terrific actor and ever since Casino I have been waiting to see him team up with Martin Scorsese once again and here Robert plays Frank the lead character of the film and we are seeing the film from his perspective and wow dose De Niro deliver a tour de force performance in this film. Throughout the film he is very guarded emotionally and dose not let people in his inner circle that is until he meets Russell and then Hoffa and we see Robert De Niro bring this emotionally restraint to himself in the first fifteen minutes now as the film progresses he peels back more and more layers and we get to see the complex individual that is Frank Sheeran and De Niro knocks it out of the park as he can deliver the dialogue in such a way he makes you believe like he means it as he brings such a depth and such passion to his dialogue every frame he is in I cannot take my eyes off of the performance that he is delivering as when things get more and more complicated for Frank we get to see like I mentioned different shades of Frank which gave De Niro a great ability to be able to explore the character in such a deep depth that is so compelling to witness onscreen as you can see the intimidation and the fear he will put in people when he needs to and then when he is around Hoffa and Russell he can relax and enjoy himself and be a bit more laid back but still professional and the emotional and also psychical transformations he goes through is incredible as we see him throughout his life so we see Frank at many different stages at his life and when we reach the point when he is a senior and he is in the later part of his life it is tragic to witness what a shell of a man Frank has become as he has lost everything and has nobody and it is very lonely and De Niro within the last hour of the film pours his heart into that last hour trust me he’s amazing in this entire film but what he provides within the last hour of the film is something I hadn’t seen from De Niro in a very long time. When he is in the later part of Frank’s life you can see the sheer regret and sadness behind his eyes even in the way he would speak you can feel the heartbreak as Frank Realizes in the later part of his life what did I do and De Niro gives such an emotional punch that brought me to tears as he speaks his dialogue so differently then how he spoke in the beginning he is so full of regret and heartache and their are moments where he won’t say a word it may just be a look or a stare and it will make me just cry he brought such a emotional depth and impact that really is outstanding. His arc in this film his huge as it covers so many years we see him evolve and when De Niro shares the screen with Pacino it is pure cinematic art as when you see them talk it feels like they brought the friendship they have shared for so many years and brought it to the film and it just was so brilliant as the chemistry the share as always is electric but wow they were incredible in each frame of this film. De Niro gives what I think is one of his best leading performances in years and he brings such a great layer of emotion and depth to the role as when you see him get news of something he needs to do even if he dose not want to do it and he does it anyway you can see on his face he dose not get pleasure from hurting others with violence and that approach he brought to Frank was really amazing and I think Robert gave a phenomenal performance that outstanding Robert De Niro delivers a captivating performance and goes to great emotional depths that will bring you to tears. 

Al Pacino : Pacino gives a scene stealing performance! This is easily Al Pacino’s best performance in years as he has never worked with Scorsese which is shocking and here he plays Jimmy Hoffa and wow dose he shine. In the film he plays Hoffa with such passion in his delivery as the moment you see him first appear on screen your hooked and Pacino brings a incredible supporting turn here. He is a firecracker that lights up the screen in such an amazing performance as he brings this toughness to him on the outside that he shows to the people at work but the moment he is with friends and family he is so vulnerable and emotionally bare and that quality Pacino provides to the role of Hoffa was so freaking amazing and impressive as he shows the arc of Hoffa and what he went through emotionally as in the beginning he is very calm and collected and then by the end he is vastly different then to what we saw when we were first introduced to him. Pacino can be so quite and have real heart to heart moments with De Niro’s character Frank and he can give Frank advice and be very patient and calm and then in the next moment be full of such rage and anger and have these bursts of intense emotional anger that Pacino provides brilliantly. As when he speaks he feels like he means what he says he brings a weight and impact to what he is saying and what I love about his performance is within the same scene he can explore such different emotional layers within one scene which is amazing to watch. He took this role head on and completely became Jimmy Hoffa as he looked like him he immersed himself in the role and soaked up every aspect of the man and he portrayed him as accurate as possible. Al truly shines in this film as he has a few moments by the later part of this film with De Niro that has very little dialogue and more just facial expression and in those moments you can see the sheer sadness and he can bring you to tears with just a look. As their is a great scene with him and De Niro at a event they are attending and De Niro’s character Frank has to warn him about something and that scene was so well acted by Pacino as he shows the stubbornness that Hoffa had and the unwillingness to accept and listen to what was going on around him and Pacino just did a perfect job at portraying this complex person by bringing such an emotional intensity that just dazzled me and he stole almost every scene he was in Al Pacino gives a truly magnetic performance that is truly amazing to watch unfold. 

Joe Pesci : Joe gives a performance unlike anything he has ever done before! Sure we had seen him in crime films and gangster films but not just that kind of film any film he has ever done I have never seen Joe give a caliber performance like this ever. He plays so total opposite to what we are so used to seeing him play as in the film he plays Russell Bufalino the crime boss to Frank’s character and wow is Pesci brilliant in the film as In the films like Goodfellas and Casino he was very loud and always was emotionally expressive in very loud ways and here he expresses his emotion in very quiet ways. As in the film he pulls back and is very emotionally restraint as when he speaks it is slow and very different then what we are used to hearing Joe sound as he adapted his voice and even the way he walked to properly portray Russell. In the film he plays a supporting role and when he is onscreen he is captivating but so chilling as he can be so intimating and so menacing by being so quiet and calm and that is so eerie as he can tell someone to go do something like knock someone off and he won’t bat an eye he has no hesitation and Joe brings this emotional depth that is explored but in such quiet and subtle ways that is so brilliantly executed. He has a massive transformation as by the beginning of the film and then by the end of the film he looks unrecognizable by the end of the film as he looks so different and due to the age he is by the end of the film. He lights up the screen with his charisma that is so well done and he delivers his lines in such a slow but impactful way that sends chills down your spine he gives a scene in this film that is one of the most emotionally intense scenes and damn is it acted so greatly by Joe as we have never seen him do any role like this and he is so captivating as Russell I am so glad he came out of retirement to do this film as he was perfect in this role and he brought the charisma and the specific kind of emotion needed in order to portray him. Joe gives a powerhouse  performance that is truly chilling. 

Martin Scorsese : Scorsese delivers one of the finest films ever! This man is a genius and in my opinion the greatest director of all time as he is my favourite director and wow he blew me away once again with his newest film the Irishman. As mentioned earlier he tackles themes in this film that is very heavy and I feel like it was the perfect time to do the film as he had to be in his seventies in order to discuss the themes in the film as he can relate to some of them with Friendship, legacy and even morality which he talks about quite a bite In the film. What is so brilliant with his approach to this story is their is so much he brings to the film that left my jaw on the floor as he shows the film from Frank’s perspective and throughout the film we see his character evolve and change overtime as well as the people around him and the sheer choice to have his daughter say very little and just be their in the background I thought was powerful as it showed the distance Frank was having from his daughter and his family as they would always be their but he never spent time with them so they were just their that is so emotionally powerful. On top of that the performances he gets from his entire cast is freaking brilliant I have not seen Scorsese create such a emotionally layered Crime film before as his previous work like Goodfellas and Casino were all about the high life and the fun of it all and this film isn’t that this film is the consequences that fall on these criminals from their choices and when they reach the later part of their life and say to themselves what have I done its incredibly powerful and he goes places with the characters and the story that was so emotionally gripping as he shows the friendship and connection that Hoffa and Frank shared over the years and when it comes to a certain point of the film it becomes heartbreaking and he set that up so beautifully as he establishes that bond and then breaks your heart. Martin Scorsese explores the darkest of depths of criminality but also the vulnerability that they feel later in their life when they are full of regret. He shows why he is such a master of cinema and brings one of his finest films he has ever crafted. 

The Lighting : The colours in the film perfectly matched the time and setting of the film greatly. Throughout the film the film changes the landscape and many years go by so their are many different setting this film goes through and the change and shift in colour palette  as in the start of this film it is very vibrant and colourful With great splashes of colour and then as the film progresses their is a shift in tone with the colour it gets more darker and more grey as the tone of the film changes and I love the choices in colour to make the frame pop out with its great colours presented throughout the film it helped match the mood and the emotion of the scene. 

The Cinematography : The camera work in this film is so beautiful! Their are such gorgeous shots in this film that I could find a shot In the film and hang it on my wall as it looks like a painting the ways the camera would move and find new and inventive ways of expressing the tone and emotion of the scene through the camera was brilliantly done. As their was a great tracking shot in  the film and their are tons and tons of great camerawork used in this film to show the scope and the tone of the film so perfectly. 

The Score : The composed score for this film was beautiful! The way the composer was able to craft the music to match the setting of the film was perfect as their would be some scenes or moments that needed no talking at all and you just let the music overplay the scene and it would be incredibly powerful and very well used the way the music was expressed and created was so gorgeous and fit the scenes so perfectly with the right music in the backdrop that just draws you in.