Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Irishman (2019) - Review

Martin Scorsese came under a lot of scrutiny for claiming that Marvel (and all the other comic book) movies are not cinema. I myself found it impossible to find a definition of, let alone make one up for cinema. But I'm quite certain about one thing; Martin Scorsese has been delivering masterpieces one after another since early 1970's. Human creativity and ingenuity is finite and everybody reaches their plateau at some point, but the quality of Scorsese's work hasn't dropped yet. Irishman might even be his best work to date!

Irishman tells the life story of Frank Sheeran (the narrator) from late 1950's to early 2000's. The movie is based on a book written by Frank's lawyer who documented his retelling of his life and interactions with real people who played somewhat significant roles in American history. Whether this narration is reliable or not is beyond anybody's comprehension. The historians have not reached a consensus on what actually transpired with regards to this story, and there is no objective truth. What we see, however, is a deeply grounded story of an outsider's journey in a foreign land: an Irish man who works at the front line of Italian Mafia in New York and Philadelphia and his dealings with a political figure of Dutch and German origin.

How much of it is true? I really don't care! I care that I witnessed 50 years of one person's life in a span of 3.5 hours. I had the privilege of spending time with fascinating characters who I could understand, sympathize, and sometimes despise. The acting, music, visuals (even the de-aging effects), cinematography, and the edits were top-notch! I highly doubt if anybody could have done a better job (even by the smallest margins).

I just have high praise for a magnificent viewing experience that made me care about the characters, with a story that made sense, and pacing that was a joy from beginning to end. Building up expectations is only going to lead to disappointments, but in all honesty, Irishman was the best movie of the decade for me. I would happily give it a 15/10!






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