Review of The Irishman (2019) by Knissen — 10 Nov 2019
Unless you're predisposed to unconditionally and indiscriminately love just about anything by Team Scorcese/DeNiro/Pacino, you'll be disappointed in The Irishman. The movie seemed to have lost sight (or never had it) of what was the main story or character, and I felt myself struggling to figure that out every step of the way.
There are long movies and then there are unnecessarily long movies; this was the latter. The last hour, especially, was inexcusably so. Pesci was understated and magnificent, while DeNiro and Pacino seemed miscast and cartoonish.
Scorcese felt he had to tell *everything* about the mafia and the teamsters union over decades, and I mean absolutely everything: every event, every character, it was ridiculous. I know some of the critics have applauded the slow pace, the artistry of the photography, but I just don't get that.
How about story? How about understanding relationships and what motivates a character? This was Goodfellas, with lots of time added in and lots of fun taken out.
This review of The Irishman (2019) was written by Knissen on 10 Nov 2019.
The Irishman has generally received very positive reviews.
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