REVIEW: "The Irishman (or, I Heard You Paint Houses)"

“I'm just trying to understand how a person can buy a fish and not know what kind it was.”

Martin Scorsese. That name alone evokes so much emotion. He’s a master of cinema and a legend in the art form. The man has started his career in 1967 and has directed twenty-five feature films since then. His filmography includes Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), the Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), The Departed (2006), and recent films like The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and Silence (2016). And that’s not even half of his work. Scorsese has one of the most immense legacies of any filmmaker. Each film he releases carries a sense of awe and anticipation. There’s so much pressure on Scorsese each time he makes something new.

The Irishman, also titled I Heard You Paint Houses, is Scorsese’s twenty-fifth film and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Starting in the 1950s, and continuing throughout the following decades, the film follows the life of hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran and his involvement with East Coast Italian mob and the rise, fall, and disappearance of famous union leader Jimmy Hoffa.

Powerful in emotion, epic in scale, The Irishman is one for the books. The talented cast, the writing, the length, the subtext, the direction, the cinematography, the editing - it’s a match made in heaven. The film is a worthy addition to everything Scorsese has built up over the years. It’s hard to find an area where The Irishman doesn’t excel.

One of the film’s biggest selling points was its star-studded lead cast, so I feel that is where we should start our discussion.

The leads here are portrayed by Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci - men who have all developed carries as famous as the director himself. The Irishman is the ninth collaboration between Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro. The two have been working together since 1976 and have remained faithful partners. The film is Pesci’s fourth collaboration with Scorsese, the most famous being in Goodfellas. This is also surprisingly the first time Pacino has worked with Scorsese despite them being contemporaries and working in a very similar vein of film in the 70s through the 90s.

The three lead actors are all obviously terrific here. They bring a level of charm and depth to the characters that very few others could. They slip seamlessly into these parts and bring with them the very best that they have learned over the years. The experience of the actors shows constantly. They never feel like they are trying too hard to do a great performance, they just do it. They inhabit the characters fully and deliver performances that are complex and resonant.

De Niro and Pesci have a special notice here as the two of them play the same characters over the course of fifty years, and pull it off flawlessly. The way the manipulate their mannerisms, attitudes, and even their voices as their characters age is remarkable. And it happens all so subtly, where you don’t realize the change has happened until the final act.

Now, when you’re making a 209 minute movie, you need more than just three characters, especially for a story has grand as The Irishman tells. Rounding out the massive ensemble is Ray Romano, Harvey Kietel, Anna Paquin, Bobby Cannavalle, and Stephen Graham, each of whom deliver fantastic performances all in there own right and unique and memorable characters. One of the highlights of the film is the abundance of fun side characters throughout the story that provide levity and depth to various storylines and threads.

The Irishman can be scary because of the long runtime, however the film is surprisingly easy to watch in a sitting. It keeps the audience engaged with a narrative that never falters. Every scene ads something new, the performances are strong and compelling, the editing keeps the film moving, and the writing adds new layers to the story at every possible moment. And that last hour? Amazing. It’s a powerful ending. Everything slowly falls into place and it feels so deeply rewarding.

The chemistry between all of the performers in the film is astounding. Scorsese is well known for directing excellent character interactions throughout his work, and we see no exception here. Despite the length of the film, the narrative avoids repetition and constantly feels fresh thanks to these side characters and the unique energy they each bring. This is the true charm of The Irishman. I keeps the film fresh and dynamic as it jumps between different tones - going from comedic, to dramatic, to tense, to tragic. And all of that emotion is in the performances.

The tone is also a standout of the film. Like many of Scorsese’s gangster movies, the Irishman has a certain amount of humour associated with it. At points, it’s down right hilarious. But it uses that to its advantage. The Irishman proves to be a wholistic emotional experience, where it gets you invested in the story and in the characters through many different means including laughter. By no means does the film border on a comedy a la the MCU, but it uses comedy sparingly and in specific doses to be a tension breaker and to diversify the emotional response.

These diverse feelings and emotions make The Irishman what it is: a bitter-sweet end of an era. The film feels like a finale in many ways for Scorsese. It’s a long, somber meditation on family, legacy, and growing old. Sure, it’s a mob story, but maybe it’s in many ways Scorsese’s own. I don’t mean to imply that Scorsese is going to die or even retire soon, but he is now seventy-seven years old and firmly in the elder years of his life. These emotions are obviously bubbling up. The Irishman ultimately a film about old age and the weight it brings. It’s powerful, poignant, and puts all of Scorsese’s work into a new and unique perspective.

The Irishman is the next Scorsese masterpiece. The internet is bound to be full of Irishman hot-takes in the next few weeks, but really these aren’t to be believed. It really is as good and as strong as everything Scorsese has made in the past. He hasn’t lost his charm as he has gotten older. He is as sharp as ever, if not better. Maturity brings depth and nuance to his work. He’s like a aged, fine wine.

“A far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster” proudly declared Henry Hill at the beginning of Goodfellas in an opening that would be remembered for years to come. The Irishman is the antithesis of that statement.

I Heard You Paint Houses de-romanticizes the gangster genre Scorsese partially created. Maybe this life isn’t so amazing after all. Even gangsters get old. What happens then? What are you left with? How will you be remembered?

Score: 5/5


The Irishman Quick Facts
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Written by Steven Zaillian
Starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino
Released November 25, 2019

209 minutes