The Irishman

About six months ago, I did a pod on Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese’s 1990 magnum opus on the wise guys of New York, which to me was sweeping, magnetic and a triumph. And as I said then, it’s a young man’s film --- it had all the adrenaline, obstinance, the hubris, and the self-belief that young men often possess. A lot of water under that bridge since 1990, with Scorsese directing a slew of incredible films to follow: the remake of Cape Fear, a huge change of pace in The Age Of Innocence, back to wise guys with Casino, Gangs Of New York for a take on the Protestant-Catholic and Nativist battles of the 1860s, The Aviator, a terrific film on Howard Hughes that didn’t get its due, then winning the Best Director Oscar in 2006 for The Departed. You’ve heard me rant about that late, late recognition before, so I’ll let it lie. Then through the latter part of the 2010s with amazing films like Hugo, The Wolf Of Wall Street and Silence. Where am I going with this laundry list? Here, you have the protagonist, but where’s the antagonist, huh? Where’s the drama? 

 Like De Sica and his Italian Neorealism series of Shoeshine, Bicycle Thieves, and Umberto D, tracing the ages of man in post-WWII Rome, you can conveniently stick a square peg in a square hole and assert that Scorsese is following a similar arc with his gang and wise guy films. Early work with young, promising actors in Mean Streets, followed by the crazy adults of Goodfellas, middle-aged and calculating in Casino. And what’s at the end of the arc? The wise guys in old age, looking back. What we find is the film, The Irishman. 

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