One of the year’s most anticipated films is a three-hour mob story starring Dirty Grandpa himself. Your move, Marvel. Directed by Martin Scorsese, an actual grandpa, The Irishman is a years-in-the-making epic about Frank Sheeran (played by Robert De Niro), a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century, including Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), and Angelo Bruno (Harvey Keitel). The Netflix film had its world premiere on Friday during the New York Film Festival, and based on early reactions, it was worth the wait.
“THE IRISHMAN is good! takes 90 minutes to lock in & clear out the cobwebs / adjust to CGI, but the scope is a virtue, the performances are killer (Joseph! Frank! Pesci!) & it eventually coheres into a heart-stopping meditation on the myopia of time. an old man movie for the ages,” IndieWire‘s David Ehrlich tweeted, while Gothamist‘s Ben Yakas added, “The Irishman is a melancholic mob epic. Funnier than expected, and gets better and better as it builds. Pacino truly steals the show, but Pesci and De Niro both are excellent. The deaging tech is mixed, but Scorsese is best there is at what he does.”
Nearly all of the reviews are positive, with unanimous praise for the performances.
THE IRISHMAN: al pacino … oscar ?????
— karen han (@karenyhan) September 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/melvillmatic/status/1177621028941582336
THE IRISHMAN is Marty’s old man movie! it’s about how you gotta have fifty conversations to do anything and everybody’s got an ego and it’s mostly just people chatting to each other and getting grumpy. terrific!!
— David Sims (@davidlsims) September 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/kristapley/status/1177624308190859264
https://twitter.com/jasondashbailey/status/1177623826571649025
THE IRISHMAN: Think GOODFELLAS, but directed by the man who gave us SILENCE. A culmination, meditation and tribute to every Scorsese/De Niro/Pesci collaboration. And yet, Al Pacino towers over all of them with a funny, sad and haunting performance as Jimmy Hoffa.
— Jordan Ruimy (@mrRuimy) September 27, 2019
THE IRISHMAN is like a greatest hits album from a master of the medium. Yes, that’s a positive.
The artifice of de-aging is more feature than bug.
It’s not “slow.” It often moves like lightening & elsewhere it’s downright Bressonian.
This is not a review! Those are embargoed.
— erickohn (@erickohn) September 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/jhoffman/status/1177620230434168832
THE IRISHMAN is an American epic that deals with time & the passing of it..209 minutes of it. De Niro is internal & Pacino is external while it’s great to see Pesci back. Scorsese’s latest is deliberately paced, funny & explores new territory with a genre he’s very familiar with.
— Matt Neglia (@NextBestPicture) September 27, 2019
THE IRISHMAN – Audacious, epic, a film that feels like it spans lifetimes yet whisks by. Technically bold, performances raw and darkly humourous, it is the culmination of Scorsese's genre fascinations, and a late career triumph. Truly cinematic, demanding to be seen big #nyff57
— Jason Gorber (@filmfest_ca) September 27, 2019
THE IRISHMAN: An instant Martin Scorsese crime classic that’s everything you want to be, and more.
De Niro’s best work in ages, Pesci lights up the screen, and Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa screaming about the Kennedys is the peak of cinema!
— Brett (@BrettRedacted) September 27, 2019
This is the only review that matters, though.
https://twitter.com/franhoepfner/status/1177623248743407620
The Irishman premieres on Netflix on November 27.
