Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman”: Your Loyalty Will Always Be Tested

The Irishman’s deep emotional texture will remind you of that memorable line from the world of Nigerian political drama – May your loyalty never be tested…Who watches a crime thriller and feels teary when a mafioso meets his bloody end? The Irishman could make you such a person, a mafioso lover.

Martin Scorsese said Marvel movies are not cinema i.e. they are a form of low art on the big screen. It is an opinion that has divided opinion. But it is Martin Scorsese. He has more than enough earned the right to deliver controversial and even derisive judgement on the works of other producers with a string of innovative cutting-edge films. His latest, The Irishman, to the chagrin of his detractors, yet again proves he is one of the greatest filmmakers.

The Irishman is based on the 2004 book, I Heard You Paint Houses, by Charles Brandt, and stars Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino, among others. The story centres on the rise of Frank Sheeran (played by De Niro) from truck driver to the top of an organised crime hierarchy, but it’s also more than that. The story centres on Frank, and the storyline runs around him, as he tells the story in a flashback-esque manner.

This is one of the brilliant acts of The Irishman, running in a nonlinear fashion. The movie dives back and forth, and in a somewhat unpredictable form. As such, it’s easy to lose track of things in the movie, but it’s hard to take your eyes off it. If you’re not intrigued, you’re curious. If you’re not engrossed, you’re at least very interested.

And thanks to the fact it is told by Frank, the movie can be in different forms; you could see it as drama, a thriller, in some ways it also seems like a documentary; in the end, it’s basically a confession. The movie runs for three hours, but it’s very much worth the time. There’s hardly anything unnecessary or overdrawn. It’s comprehensive, but not bloated.

The de-aging technology used for the faces in the film is a bit weird, particularly when watching those faces make conversation. But it’s a trivial blot on this masterpiece. As always, De Niro brings his A-game to this film, the genuineness of it all; hear him stutter when narrating the events as an old man, notice him mistake one name for the other. It is brilliantly acted, and incredibly convincing.

The Irishman is yet another Scorsese film about organised crime. But while there has been valid if not completely justified criticism that the legendary Director’s films glorify crime and violence, this time it is different. The Irishman is far less about the bling that crime affords or the violence required to make it pay big; it is more an insightful commentary on the dramas of any form of social power – the struggle for it, the sacrifices, the tests of loyalty and the hard choices and the gutsy calls. Yes, it treats power in a context of crime but The Irishman’s deep emotional texture will remind you of that memorable line from the world of Nigerian political drama – May your loyalty never be tested.

The characters in the movie are also a joy. There’s Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino), the erstwhile leader of the Teamster Union. Jimmy is loyal, but quite hot-headed and principled but impatient to acquire power. The sort of guy that is likely to meet a relatively premature end. Who watches a crime thriller and feels teary when a mafioso meets his bloody end? The Irishman could make you such a person, a mafioso lover. It does a very good brilliant job of making you emotional about the death of the mobster, Jimmy. Consider the gruesome betrayal of his being killed by his loyal friend, Frank. And then the very emotional conversation Frank went on to have with Jimmy’s wife, Josephine.

The Irishman touches various places; an almost chess-like battle for power, a struggle for recognition and identity, togetherness, the concept of knowing one’s place, all the way to failed parenting. In all those instances, the movie clearly shows us that decisions are almost always followed by consequences. It is a very good use of three hours.