The Irishman

The Irishman is Martin Scorsese’s 3 1/2 hour film based on the book “I heard you paint houses” that follows the life of Frank Sheeran a Teamster union leader and thought to be heavily involved in suggested links between the mob and the unions.

This is certainly an epic, which allows Scorsese to take his time to tell the story and his excellent ensemble cast lead by De Niro and with Al Pacino and Joe Pesci by his side it provides a mob film dream team, to put that story on screen.

But this isn’t a “traditional” mob or even Scorsese film, what he has crafted is a patient story that explores Sheeran’s actions but more importantly the impacts of them on himself and his family, especially the relationship with his daughter Peggy (Anna Paquin).

It’s that exploration of Sheeran’s choices and actions that makes this an interesting watch and more engaging than many a “wise guy” film.

The performances are as you’d expect from such a cast and although occasionally noticable the de-aging special effects work well enough to be unobtrusive.

The Irishman is a well told and involving story, it is 3 1/2 hours on Netflix so treat it as a mini series if that helps, but it is worth the investment.