Review of GoodFellas (1990) by Jorge H — 26 Mar 2013

The first gangster movie masterpiece from Martin Scorsese tells the rise and fall of Irish-Italian mobster Henry Hill over thirty years of life in the mafia. Hill as a boy eagerly starts out his career by carrying out simple tasks such as parking and blowing up cars for a prospering Brooklyn crime family.

Through his duties he meets his like-minded but psychotic partner in crime named Tommy (Joe Pesci), and a tough, successful superior, Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro). The trio then bribe, beat, and curse their way to success within the family, graduating to larger crimes including airport heists, unauthorized hits, and cocaine trafficking.

These escapades don't go without notice or consequences, as Henry's struggling marital life hangs by a thread due to his unreported activities outside the house and disregard for his devoted wife, Karen, and Tommy's violent tendencies grow out of control and jeopardize the safety of the group and their operations around the country.

Business is then temporarily put on hold when the key players in the family are sent to prison, including Henry and Jimmy. The gangsters are treated well though, in comparison to the other inmates, and they are released shortly, to see that business is going fairly well and normally.

But things then spin out of control when Henry faces drug addiction and money is placed in the wrong hands. Throughout the course of the movie are fitting and flavorful songs picked from the 50's though the 70's that boost the tone and enliven the intricate world that is created in addition to powerful performances from the distinguished cast of character actors, many of whom played key roles in The Sopranos.

Goodfellas paints a realistic and unrelenting portrayal of organized crime in the mafia that has a heavier tone than The Godfather, though they both depict fully realized central characters that are enduring and flawed, who through their decisions put their own and the people around them's lives at stake to protect the equally dangerous business they take part in.