“The Irishman” is …an incredibly Dostoyevskian statement from Scorsese. Its 209 minutes, for the most part, fly by. There’s an unfortunate shapelessness to the first 20 or so minutes which introduces us to a very young and, off-puttingly, de-aged De Niro and how he managed to go from meat-packing driver to finally get into the mob business as a hitman. At that point, the drama starts to elevate, the de-aging a little less of a distraction and we are thrust into a 1960s America filled with crime, both societal and political. It doesn’t let up for the next three hours, with only a few (very short) dull stretches here and there, as a whirlwind of characters and plot twists are thrown at us at fervorous speed. “The Irishman” could have surely benefitted from being, actually, a little longer. Sometimes Scorsese speeds us through its events at such breakneck-speed that a few of the supporting players end up having their stories not as well-developed as they should have been.
However, for all of the film’s chaotic nature and astonishingly numbered supporting roles, it is heralded by three towering and important performances from Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino. In fact, all three roles couldn’t be more different; De Niro is the quiet assassin, Pesci the somber mob boss and Pacino the boisterous Union Teamster head. All three may very well get nominated come Oscar time.
"I believe Pacino (Supporting Actor), De Niro (Actor), Scorsese (Director) and Zaillian (Adapted Screenplay) are all shoo-ins for a nomination. As for Pesci, his gentle performance, as beautifully rendered as it was, may be a little too subtle for the Academy’s tastes, but he could very well get in regardless because, as we all know, Oscar absolutely loves a comeback story"
My Oscar predictions have been updated with six ‘Irishman’ additions in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay