Definitely think this is the meta-intent of the last thirty minutes of the movie. The mafia stuff winds up causing the greatest emptiness of Frank's life. The whole time we're waiting for this Tony Soprano-level moment of reflection but it never happens. Frank is so numbed that he can't reconcile with the fact he ruined his and other's lives through his mafia involvement. He can't even feel remorse by the film's end; he just pleads for someone, anyone, to listen to his tired, overlong story. This is, in my mind, Scorcese's send-off to the mafia genre, so it only makes sense that he'd cap off his legacy by having this long convoluted mafia story lead to one of the most profound depictions of isolation I've seen in any film in a long time.
I still remember the announcement that Leo was gonna be producing the Richard Jewell movie with him playing the lawyer and Jonah Hill playing Jewell. Obviously that didn’t turn out as it did so it’s worth noting that movies and tv can go thru development issues over the years
I haven't rewatched the movie in a year, but it keeps coming in to my head in moments of quiet. When Frank is describing the murder of Joe Gallo, he says that "he'd be there with his wife and his kid which, in this case, that's good. They should have to see what it's like". This is said by the much older Frank, who has had all the time needed to properly contextualize and rationalize his behavior. It shows the complete depravity inherent in these types of people, as well as their own hypocrisy; Frank says he did what he did to protect his family, showing a complete remove in his mind from the safety and well-being of anyone else's family. Scorsese has repeatedly emphasized the cruelty and immorality of these people across multiple films, but that line reading is particularly chilling because it is not delivered as especially important or profound; Frank and people like him do not think it is particularly noteworthy that they intentionally murder people in front of their family members in order to make a point. A lot of casual viewers looked at The Irishman unfavorably to films like Goodfellas because you can watch Goodfellas while missing the point and still enjoy it. The Irishman is intentionally brutal in making you feel just how painful the entire thing can be, and how there is perhaps a fate worth than the deaths that Frank dealt out.
Rewatched this last night. The scene with Jimmy, and Tony Pro in prison is great. Hoffa’s obsession with Ice Cream while Pro is asking what happened to his pension haha. I still think Pacino gives such a fantastic performance in this. I forgot how disgusted Frank looks after Jimmy deflects the question about his attendance at JFK’s funeral, and then Jimmy having the flag raised. That was probably a small turning point for Frank there.
Unpopular opinion but I thought both Goodfellas and The Irishman were boring as sin, and the stories were not told well Whereas even years after the fact, Casino still scares me in its brutality
i'm not at masterpiece yet w/ irishman but i've only seen it twice also, casino has one of the best performances i've seen in any of marty's movies in sharon stone
I've only seen the Irishman once and I think it's an all timer. Need to do a rewatch this week. That ending is up there as one of my favorites, ever. The only downside is the CGI De Niro
Shinebox is the only scene I remember wowing me in Goodfellas. For a master fimmaker, a lot of scenes just felt out of place to me The whole Joe Gallo comedy club/restaurant scene was excellently done - so much of the rest of The Irishman was just a slog I know it's a remake but I vastly prefer the dialogue, pacing and layout of a film like The Departed to any of his heralded classics
That's all anyone usually has to say to any of my takes. Y'all should formulate your thoughts or explain your interests sometime, it drives discussion
I talked about why I liked this movie in this thread when it came out, I don't feel like rehashing it all right now.
if you need someone to formulate thoughts on a universally beloved nearly 30 year old movie, idk what to tell you