I’m saddened to report, Mr Scorsese, a misfire: The Irishman misses in just about every way it is possible to imagine—and, more importantly, commits the unforgivable sin of being dull. With its CGI de-aging of a decidedly septuagenarian cast, it looks like the Grand Theft Auto version of Goodfellas—of some interest as a technical exercise, but far from the explosive tour de force for which one would have hoped.
Unfortunately, the de-aged Robert De Niro, and co-stars, look nothing like they did at any point in the past—and they forgot to de-age their physiques, or movements. In a scene in which he beats a victim on the sidewalk, De Niro appears every one of his 76 years, and is laughably unconvincing. I can’t imagine Stella Adler would have been impressed.
Lacking the stunning visual flair or narrative urgency of Goodfellas, or fascinating use of language of Casino—which would have required a Nicholas Pileggi script—The Irishman sags under the weight of its own vanity. Everything on show here has been displayed many times before—usually on The Sopranos—and Scorsese falls back on referencing his own back catalogue, including matching shots from Taxi Driver that were striking in their originality …in 1976. While De Niro and Al Pacino phone in their performances, Joe Pesci wisely elects to play against type as a reserved, unshowy boss, and Harvey Keitel and Ray Romano punch occasional holes in the drab tableaux. Scorsese would have been better off casting actors 30 or 40 years younger, and leaving these shadows of their 1970s heyday to play the aging greaseballs directing things from backrooms. This is not a veiled comedy of manners like Raging Bull or Goodfellas—and, as the central characters give us nothing to empathize with, we care nothing about their fates.
If one wishes to reflect on what acting talent can do, it is worth recalling that, when Marlon Brando played Vito Corleone in The Godfather, he was 46—but surely no one in his right mind would wish to see him play 30+ years younger than himself. I imagine that in the near future technology will advance to a point where entire performances will be interpolated from ones previously committed to celluloid—and then I’m going to stop going to the movies altogether.
FATAL VISIONS 