Yeah my showing was sold out and there were zero assholes. I guess if you’re committing to the 4hrs you’re probably interested enough to not talk during it
This movie isn't the most overtly visually spectacular Scorsese has made so I wouldn't go as far as to call it "must see" in theaters. But theaters are my preferred viewing option in general.
That being said the camera really does take some journeys during some of these scenes. He's a wizard.
One of the things that Scorsese does again is avoid the cliche of criminals repenting or otherwise feeling remorse for their actions. Henry Hill's biggest regret was that he had to be middle-class after entering witness protection, and Jordan Belfort immediately went back into trying to scam people. Frank Sheeran does have remorse, but only for those things that affect him personally, which is the alienation from his daughters and being forced to kill his friend. He doesn't feel anything for the countless murders he committed; as an old man in a nursing home, he stresses the need to kill Joe Gallo in front of his children for the impact it will have. At no point does he attempt to moralize for the death of the other major characters as described in the ending, and it is easy to see that if Hoffa had lived and his daughter had not been shattered by that death he would probably not even bother confessing to the priest. It is a profound approach because it avoids the tendency to try and rationalize their behavior. We don't have a bad childhood or abuse to go back on; it only briefly mentions that he started stealing from the trucks to pay for his growing family. He casually admits to committing war crimes because his commanding officer told him to. These are irredeemable people who either never question their behavior or never come to a moral conclusion when they do.
The scene with them eating in prison at the end summed that entire idea up so well. Pesci conveyed so much about how they view their lives and behavior in just a few lines. One of my favorite aspects of the movie.
I was the only person in the theater who was able to appreciate the Don Rickles cameo and the Action Bronson cameo.
I will say one of the hardest times I laughed wasn’t because of anything in the movie itself but from one of the few times I heard anyone speak. Right after Colombo is shot and there’s all the chaos, I heard the man right in front of me whisper very quietly but very confidently to his wife, “That’s Bobby Kennedy,” and it was so absurd that I couldn’t hold it in.
Somebody whispered to their partner that Anna Paquin was DeNiro's daughter. Are people just not paying attention?
Probably. There were lots of bathroom breaks in my showing so maybe that would explain some of it? The Kennedy thing just floored me though. Even if you somehow missed that Bobby is already in this movie and looks nothing like that, what in the circumstances is in any way similar? I would love to see inside that guy’s head for just one minute.
I surprisingly didn’t feel the length in this at all, not sure which performance I liked more between DeNiro and Pesci