The Irishman, based on the book by Charles Brandt - 10 out of 10

The Irishman, based on the book by Charles Brandt

10 out of 10

Given the glorious reception received by this magnum opus, the only thing that may be left to establish would be what will be the place of the motion picture among the other quintessential classics, would it be in the same top twenty best ever, with Goodfellas and The Godfather, or right behind…Variety has perhaps a very accurate, awed take on the latest Scorsese achievement

“The Irishman is a coldly enthralling, long-form knockout — a majestic Mob epic with ice in its veins. It’s the film that, I think, a lot us wanted to see from Scorsese: a stately, ominous, suck-in-your-breath summing up, not just a drama but a reckoning, a vision of the criminal underworld that’s rippling with echoes of the director’s previous Mob films, but that also takes us someplace bold and new.”

This viewer was equally exuberant, although the Al Pacino performance as Jimmy Hoffa seems less than overwhelming, maybe somewhat exaggerated and a little artificial, although the undersigned is not in a position to dispute the quality of the overall production, which is not affected by the exaggeration, and even this estimate is probably wrong, for there are surely many who would say that Al Pacino is flawless.

The saga is complex and there is no point in trying to touch on the plot line, which has Frank Sheeran aka The Irishman aka Robert De Niro at the center, with a thoughtful, restrained, perhaps perfect performance from the legendary actor, surrounded by an ensemble that is equally phenomenal, perhaps with the exception aforementioned, including formidable Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino, Harvey Keitel as Angelo Bruno, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin and so many others.

A film that would enter the History of Cinema, together with The King of Comedy, Goodfellas and most of the other films directed by the divine Martin Scorsese.