The Irishman

Abstract

The Irishman Robert Hensley-King The Irishman 2019 Directed by Martin Scorsese Distributed by Netflix Netflix.com 209 minutes An old man looks back on a life of crime. There is something beautifully elegiac about Martin Scorsese's film The Irishman. As well as recounting the tale of the enigmatic Frank Sheeran (played by Robert DeNiro) looking back on his career in organized crime, it brings together many of the thematic and formal elements that have come to define a Scorsese film. This film presents a multi-layered and subtle treatment of faith, the Mafia, family, friendship, and loyalty in a manner that pushes boundaries, while being familiar to those who know Scorsese's work. The film is astonishing in its sensitive treatment of Frank's competing and divergent worlds. As well as its cinematic importance, it offers both an insightful commentary on the human condition and many avenues for further study. The Irishman is a treatment of Charles Brandt's book I Heard You Paint Houses. From the opening voiceover onward, Frank looks back on his life after serving in World War II in Italy. Having started out as a Teamsters union-card-carrying truck driver who turns to petty larceny to provide for his growing family, a chance meeting changes his life. This same meeting and a willingness to keep quiet when questioned allows him to catch the eye of Russell Bufalino (played by Joe Pesci). Russell (Russ) introduces Frank to Mafia boss Angelo Bruno (played by Harvey Keitel), and schools him in the ways of the Mafia. Thanks to Russ's protection and friendship, Frank becomes a feared and respected gun for hire in the Mafia. As part of his work, Frank becomes a bodyguard for the Teamsters union president, Jimmy Hoffa (played by Al Pacino). Frank forms a close friendship with Jimmy and, with encouragement from Russ, becomes a consigliere to Jimmy, encouraging peace with his foes. Like many of Scorsese's gangsters, there is an attractive naivete to Frank, which helps him attract audience empathy as a killer. Frank is not completely in control of his world. His lack of autonomy is evident in the themes common to many of Scorsese's antiheroic protagonists: balancing loyalties to his friends, the Mafia, his family, and religion – specifically Catholicism. While these themes are familiar in Scorsese's work, The Irishman is unique in that it treats them from the perspective of age. This merits closer scrutiny in that it offers both continuity and innovation in what marks The Irishman as a film worthy of both critical and academic attention. The Irishman has a particular appeal for a breadth of audiences in that it reunites Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel, who are strongly associated with Scorsese's treatment of the Mafia. In this film, Scorsese also directed icon of the gangster subgenre Al Pacino for the first time. This results in numerous intertextual homages to Mafia films and more specifically to his own work. The (re)union of the cast and numerous textual and intertextual references are helped by the emerging de/ageing technology. While it is not yet perfect, when combined with the power of Scorsese and his collaborators to draw audiences into his narrative ensures that one quickly engages with the film. This is helped by seeing old screen friends in a new tale. The Irishman adds a new element to Scorsese's treatment of friendship by showing how Russ and Jimmy are affected by historical events. While Scorsese has always taken care to contextualize his films historically. This time he plays with history in fictive ways that comment on Russ and Jimmy as individuals and in relation to Frank. The multiple loyalties are combined with a politically charged situation in which the political interests of Russ and Jimmy grow further apart. Frank must navigate the many layers of competing fictive truths as well as his complex ties to both men. Russ has his reasons for supporting President Kennedy just has Jimmy has his reasons for siding with President Nixon. [End Page 43] Looking back on his life, Frank acknowledges the significance of Russ as a mentor. While the two are friends there is...