The Irishman.

Danny1969

I watched it last night, quite enjoyed it and it never dragged for me. I think it helps if you know a bit of background about Hoffa and the Teamster union ... US audiences will know all about him but probably not your average UK resident. 

All in all a good mobster film

Nunogilberto

I read something on Twitter recently that said the last time they saw something that slow involving an Irishman, it was Tony Cascarino...

bgmartinsbridge

Just finished watching it tonight - over 2 days.
Worth watching def but split it. 

BigBearKris

I thought it was great watch. It felt bit artificial with CGI on DeNiro but putting that aside it was a good Scorsese picture. It didn't feel too long for me, although I admit I watched it over two nights. 
I think I'll go full rewatch of few mobster classics soon. Again.

ten77guitar

Zoolooter said:

Just to add, although good, it didn’t have the chutzpah of his previous mob films. A little bit flat and lacking in memorable moments.

I think that was intentional though. Those films were made over 20 years ago. It would have been ridiculous making another Goodfellas/Casino with these actors now. Pesci for example plays a calm, measured character in contrast to his usual hotheaded psycho. I thought it was excellent.

musteatbrain

It’s at least an hour too long in my opinion. 

Philly_Q

RandallFlagg said:

I haven't seen it and don't want any spoilers so without giving too much away is it about an Irishman?

No, it's about an American who thinks he's an Irishman, in that ridiculous way all Americans claim to be something other than American, even though they also claim America is the greatest country on Earth.

DrJazzTap

 I thought it was over hyped. Typical Scorsese film for me, weird morality angle for me. It was good to see pesci again but Pacino is in full blown shouty mode now. 

ten77guitar

DrJazzTap said:

 I thought it was over hyped. Typical Scorsese film for me, weird morality angle for me. It was good to see pesci again but Pacino is in full blown shouty mode now. 

The morality issue is an interesting one. It was the same with the Sopranos. Some of the characters are very likeable and apart from the fact they kill people and commit crimes have many qualities that would otherwise be seen as “good” - strength, courage, loyalty, love for their family etc.

I think Scorsese would say the reason for that is because that reflects real life - some real mobsters would also have had these qualities. To the accusation that he glamorises the lifestyle, I’m sure he would say that’s because it was glamorous (for the top mobsters at least).

His films always seem to follow the same arc - a fast, exciting rise to the top where everything seems to be going great then an abrupt descent in to chaos. Most of the character get their comeuppance - either they get killed or are imprisoned.

andyp

I watched it in two halves and finished it last night. I thought it was great, but no way I could do that in one sitting. I'm a huge Scorsese fan and also a fan of the main actors and the genre... so it was an easy sell for the likes of me. Still, it's well worth watching.

I didn't find the de-ageing distracting at all. The only odd bit was when the thing with the shopkeeper happened. I don't know how to post a spoiler thingy here and don't want to say something that might be a spoiler. A guy at work said exactly the same thing though.

victorludorum

Does he talk about the border/backstop in it?

MagicPigDetective

Two sittings for me too, really enjoyed it. In the latter hour, De Niro's face was saying so much, you could sense the conflict of keeping everyone happy going on inside the character's head, that he couldn't say what he wanted to say, great acting. Similar to the Sopranos, showed how the gangster lifestyle can be combined with a family life, but the bad shit will eventually catch up and cause pain to all.  The use of the daughter to demonstrate this was very effective. Pesci's restrained performance also excellent. And a few classic lines, “Who the f*** wears shorts to a meeting?” LOL

andyp

Totally agree. Nice synopsis there @MagicPigDetective ;