Film Details:
Title: The Irishman
Original Release: 2019
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Steven Zaillian
Producer(s): Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci
Running Time: 209 minutes
Genre: Crime • Drama
Certificate: 15 (UK)
Available On: Netflix
"In a way, watching The Irishman feels like the last great hurrah for all of the OG talent involved. De Niro, Pesci, Pacino, even for Scorsese. Much like how the movie is essentially a dying man reminiscing on the mob life, which resulted in him all alone in a nursing home waiting to die.
"The Irishman feels like the end of an era, because ultimately you can only delay the inevitable for so long. The last half hour felt like a grim reminder on how horrible it is to grow old and weak, around people you don't recognise or relate to. Yet, that is the lifestyle these people reaped and sowed."
Themes: Loyalty • Regret • Family • Ageing • Consequences
Verdict: ★★★★★
Worth Watching? Absolutely. One of Scorsese's finest meditations on ageing, loyalty and consequences.
Final Thought: Every gangster film asks who survives. The Irishman asks whether survival is enough.
After the Credits is an Opinion feature of the Jewish Dispatch.