​Quick Hit: A story about the reflections of age and your own perspective on your actions.

Martin Scorsese’s latest film is a deep reflection on two subjects that he has tackled throughout his entire career. The first is the mob, which he states he drew on his own personal experience as a child, and the second is a much deeper reflection of religion and our own actions. The latter part of his career seems to have pushed more into this second realm, but he uses The Irishman, which is currently available for streaming on Netflix, to build the two into a cohesive theme. What would happen if an aged mobster was reflecting on his own actions at the end of his life? What would he think of himself?
​
Scorsese pushes the envelope in this film (could it be his last?) in a number of ways. The first is his use of De-Aging technology to allow his main acting ensemble to play themselves throughout the movie in a story that spans 50 years. The second is the running time, which is an incredible 209 minutes. Both have their drawbacks and their benefits, but I think that overall, both end up serving as an overall benefits to the story. For one, after you get past the initial shock, the de-aging technology doesn’t really hurt the story, but it does allow you to follow some terrific actors through the whole story, without having to work to remember who is who in what scene. Secondly, the running time allows the story to ebb and flow, just as if you were really sitting with an elderly gentleman who was telling you a story. There’s a lot of tangents to this film, some of which you may find out were critical to the story, some that weren’t. But all of them are enjoyable and included because Frank thought they were important to pass along. 

Let’s talk about the story overall. Boiled down to its barest elements, the story is of a young man named Frank Sheeran (Robert DeNiro), who finds himself in the good graces of an Italian mob family run by Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), and eventually its dealings with Union Boss Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). This largely has to deal with the fact that Frank finds himself in the right places at the right times, but it also has to do with the fact that he is no nonsense and doesn’t have an issue with following orders. This is also at the expense of his family life (more on this in a minute) and frequently puts him into a position where he has different bosses all giving him orders, some of which may be conflicting. This gives DeNiro, who has fallen into a phase in his career where he has been called “sleepy” or “washed up”, the chance to give a cold nonchalance that perfectly fits the role of Frank. He isn’t a dumb character, but he plays the fool more than once, and allows other characters to think he’s dumb. It’s a brilliant move for a mobster, when so much of the game is what others think of you.
​
The acting really is tremendous throughout the film, with Pesci giving possibly my favorite performance of his career. Russell is extremely subdued throughout the film, which comes in direct contrast to what he frequently was in Scorsese’s other films. It’s this quiet intelligence, when coupled with Frank’s seeming dimness, that makes the two such a formidable pair. Pacino also excels as Hoffa, who was a larger than life character and perfectly fits Pacino’s skills. There’s also some stand out acting from some women that get shafted to the sides of the story, including from Anna Paquin as Frank’s daughter. 

I think this is where the emotion of the story comes from. One of the first reactions that we see from Frank regarding his family is when he leaves his wife for a waitress, and doesn’t seem at all concerned about it. It’s this coldness that permeates his relationship with his daughters, particularly Peggy. Peggy has one of her first scenes as her father beats a man senseless in front of her, because of his treatment of her. It’s scenes like this that set the feelings moving, particularly when you see how the relationship between Hoffa and Peggy is one of love and trust. She respects what Jimmy does, but she despises her own father’s role in the community as an enforcer.

Throughout the film, I was pretty much entranced. Is it a bit too long? Maybe. But this long form storytelling is something that is not seen enough outside of television. I’m giving this one an “A-“.

For more on this film, check out IMDB. 

​Quick Hit:  Viscerally powerful despite being an overall mixed message. 

I absolutely did not think I was going to like this movie. I was worried I would come out of it comparing Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker to the wide variety of Jokers (most of them excellent – sorry Jared Leto) and thinking that he was going to fall short. But Joaquin did what he does, and he gave a performance that is absolutely Oscar worthy. And all while starring in a film that seems to idolize Martin Scorsese by the guy who directed The Hangover. What a world that we live in folks.
​
Phoenix disappears into the role of Arthur Fleck, a man with a sad, sad life. He takes jobs as part of a clowning agency, and watches late night talk shows with his mom at night. To top it all off, he takes a boatload of medication and visits a social worker who eventually has to pull the plug on his fragile support to sanity. Oh – and he has a disorder where he laughs uncontrollably, largely at inappropriate times. A failed stand-up attempt gets on him on the radar of Gotham, but he’s also found a way to rile a city that seems to be built on a powder keg – a self-defense turned gleeful murder. 

Phillips creates a Gotham city that seems to invoke LA prior to the race riots, or New York during the famous garbage strikes. The powder keg that is the city is similar to what happened here in St. Louis in Ferguson after the Michael Brown verdicts. He does this largely with colors, full of yellows and browns. He somehow manages to have everything seem dingy, and that includes the moments of action as well, which do nothing to glorify some extreme violence. Really the only thing that I can fault him is seeming to emulate Scorsese a little too much – at times I expected De Niro to say “You talkin’ to me?”.
​
Speaking of actors, De Niro is in this, which completes the feeling of Scorsese. While he does a good job playing what is essentially a Johnny Carson/Jay Leno role. But no one even approaches Phoenix, who fully commits (like he always does) physically. The last role I saw him in was a bulky assassin in You Were Never Really Here. Now he’s slimmer than ever, which creates a character in Fleck who is all angles and bones. His laugh is anything but gleeful, and every single interaction with other characters seems well-thought out and full. It’s truly an Oscar worthy performance. 

There are a few issues with this film though. The first is that largely it seems to forget that it’s trying to set up a back story for The Joker, from The Batman comics. This leads to a few world-building attempts that don’t seem to fit with the tone of the rest of the film. The second issue is that it largely makes Arthur Fleck a slightly sympathetic character. And this is a man that murders people, extremely violently. It shows the effect that someone who has mental health issues could have – and in that it fails, because it makes mental health the bad guy.

Whatever your reasons, I think most superhero audiences will leave this film disgusted or bored. But I was riveted the whole time. I’m giving it an “A-“.
​
For more on this film, check out IMDB.

Whoa - my fingers are tired from trying to keep up with the non-stop nominations. Think I caught them all this year though. Some of these really surprised me. Without further ado... 

Best Picture
Ford Vs. Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood
Parasite

Best Actor
Antonio Banderas – Pain and Glory
Leonardo Dicaprio – Once upon a time.. in Hollywood
Adam Driver – Marriage Story
Jopquin Phoenix – Joker
Jonathan Pryce – The Two Popes

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo – Harriet
Scarlett Johansson – Marriage Story
Saoirise Ronan – Little Women
Charlize Theron – Bombshell
Renee Zellweger - Judy

Best Editing
“The Irishman”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Parasite”
“Joker”
“Jojo Rabbit”

Best Supporting Actress
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”

Best Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”

Makeup and Hair design
“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”

Costumes Design
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Little Women”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”

Production Design
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“The Irishman”
“1917”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Parasite”

Cinematography
The Irishman
Joker
The Lighthouse
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Animated Feature Film
How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Klaus
Missing Link
Toy Story 4

Original Score
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams

Original Song
I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away – Toy Story 4
I’m gonna Love Me Again – Rocketman
I’m Standing With You – Breakthrough
Into the Unknown – Frozen II
Stand Up - Harriet

Original Screenplay
Knives Out
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite

Adapted Screenplay
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
The Two Popes

Best Director
Martin Scorscese – The Irishman
Todd Phillips – Joker
1917 – Sam Mendes
Once Upon – Quentin Tarantino
Bong Joon Ho - Parasite

Visual Effects
Avengers: Endgame
The Irishman
The Lion King
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best International Feature Film
South Korea, “Parasite”
Spain, “Pain and Glory”
France, “Les Misérables”
North Macedonia, “Honeyland”
Poland, “Corpus Christi”

Best documentary feature
“American Factory”
“The Edge of Democracy”
“Honeyland”
“For Sama”
“The Cave”

Best documentary short subject
“In the Absence”
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)”
“Life Overtakes Me”
“St. Louis Superman”
“Walk Run Cha-Cha”

Best animated short film
“Dcera (Daughter)”
“Hair Love”
“Kitbull”
“Memorable”
“Sister”

Best live action short film
“Brotherhood”
“Nefta Football Club”
“The Neighbors’ Window”
“Saria”
“A Sister”

Best sound mixing
“1917”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Ad Astra”
“Joker”

Best sound editing
“1917”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Joker”