The Irishman: I Hear You Paint Houses

The Irishman is a crime epic directed by Martin Scorsese the plot follows Frank Sheeran, (Robert De Niro), as he descends into the mobster underworld. The film spans Sheeran’s whole life; focusing a lot of the runtime on Sheeran’s relationship with the notorious Jimmy Hoffa, (Al Pacino).

The Irishman is an incredibly ambitious undertaking on Scorsese’s part, as he uses de-ageing technology to show the actors in their younger forms, rather than casting younger actors, which for the most part works well, especially if you’re prepared to suspend your disbelief; there were only two instances when I thought the CGI technology was noticeably bad.

It is nice to see all of these Gangster Film/ Scorsese veterans back on the big screen together, De Niro gives a career-best performance, which is nice to see as he hasn’t been in the best films recently. De Niro has given so much to the gangster genre, effectively becoming a cornerstone of it and, it is nice to see him get centre stage once again. Pacino likewise is phenomenal, his Hoffa can go toe to toe with Sheeran both in terms of presence and memorability. Really the Irishman is the story of the relationship between these two men. Another thing that makes the Irishman so special is that it marks the on-screen return of prolific crime film star Joe Pesci. Pesci plays Russel Bufalino a crime boss who takes a young Sheeran under his blood-soaked wing, it is lovely to see Pesci return, he gives a hearty performance, perhaps not as manic and crazed as some of his older performances, but still incredibly commanding all the same.

My one issue with the casting is that of Anna Paquin as Polly Sheeran, Frank’s daughter. Since very early on in the film Polly and Frank have a very tense relationship; as such she doesn’t talk to her father in the last act of the film, despite him wanting them to, my complaint is not that Paquin doesn’t have many lines, instead being why cast Paquin at all; this would have been a great opportunity to give to an unknown or, an upcoming talent; as Paquin herself doesn’t add much.

My final note is that the runtime, in case you didn’t know, is 3 and a half hours, which can be off-putting to some. The Irishman is paced very deliberately, sometimes scenes feel very long and drawn out, and yes this did make me lose focus and I did almost give up with it a few times, but such is the nature of an epic.

If you like the genre then there is more than enough to get you to invest in the Irishman, however, if you’re more of a casual viewer you may find some elements of it off-putting. Overall it is very nice to see some of these familiar faces back on the screen and giving standout performances.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Ford Vs. Ferrari: Crossing the Finish-line in 1st

Le Mans ’66, or Ford Vs Ferrari in the USA, is a biographical sports drama, about the rivalry between the Ford Motor Company and Ferrari, which came to a head over the Le Mans 24 hour race in 1966.

The plot follows the team that Ford puts together to build a car that can win Le Mans and dethrone Ferrari. Ford’s team is lead by the automotive legend Carroll Shelby, (Matt Damon), and his war hero driver Ken Miles,( Christian Bale).

I know very little about Racing, so if you are looking for a review of the film, where the realism and how close it was to the real events are mentioned; you might want to look elsewhere.

James Mangold directs this film, Mangold is one of the best directors working today see Logan or, Walk The Line for proof, and Le Mans 66, (that is what I’m going to call it), is another testament to his ability to direct masterfully. The film itself is very long, about 152 minutes to be exact, but it doesn’t feel like a slog. The plot mostly moves at a good pace, never getting bogged down for too long on any one thing. The only time this is untrue is in the final 10 minutes, which feel incredibly drawn out and do make you start to lose interest.

Le Mans 66 is interesting, even if like me you know very little about the sport itself, this is because there is a constant tension throughout that keeps getting turned up. The corporate politics of the Ford Motor Company result in moments where you think they’re going to shut the project down, these sequences are nail-biting, as you have come to root for the characters and want to see them succeed.

To develop on the idea of characters, Damon’s Shelby is believable and consistent throughout, we can see he is a veteran of the industry, who wants one last shot at glory. Also, his performance in the final moments of the film really helps to draw the emotion out of it and make it impactful.

However, his performance is completely upstaged, somewhat predictably by Bale’s Miles. Bale proves once again that he is one of the actors of the generation fully losing himself in the role. He is convincing as a man who has dedicated his life to cars and the art of racing. Furthermore, when they do the standard biopic thing of showing you the real people at the end, Bale looks eerily similar to the real person.

The film’s villain Leo Beebe, (Josh Lucas), is the one thing I can criticise about the film as he never feels like a believable threat instead feeling like at most a pain; which can be easily overcome.

Le Mans 66 is a fantastic Sports Biopic, whether you like racing or, not, the performances are equally excellent Bale especially. However, a weak villain and a slow final few minutes stop Le Mans 66 from crossing the finish line in 1st place.

4/5
Reviewed by Luke