The Irishman is set to drop on Netflix on 27 November 2019 (with a limited theatrical run in the US on 1 November). However, the film did make its debut at the 2019 New York Film Festival at a press/industry screening and those who were lucky enough to catch the film suggest an absolutely brilliant film by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Critics have called the film “an instant Martin Scorsese crime classic,” “a masterwork,” and “f*cking fantastic.” “All hail the king,” one critic said referring to Scorsese.
Martin Scorsese is the director who gave us some of the best gangster films not named The Godfather, such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Casino. He’s also the man behind Raging Bull, Mean Streets, Gangs of New York and the two films that heavily inspired 2019’s Joker, Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. The Irishman not only sees the director return to the genre he’s oh so familiar with, but he’s also doing so with actors who helped define the crime/gangster genre in the 70s, 80s and 90s — Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino.
Check out the early Twitter reactions to the film below:
THE IRISHMAN is like a greatest hits album from a master of the medium. Yes, that’s a positive.
The artifice of de-aging is more feature than bug.
It’s not “slow.” It often moves like lightening & elsewhere it’s downright Bressonian.
This is not a review! Those are embargoed.
— erickohn (@erickohn) September 27, 2019
THE IRISHMAN is good! takes 90 minutes to lock in & clear out the cobwebs / adjust to CGI, but the scope is a virtue, the performances are killer (Joseph! Frank! Pesci!) & it eventually coheres into a heart-stopping meditation on the myopia of time. an old man movie for the ages.
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) September 27, 2019
THE IRISHMAN: An instant Martin Scorsese crime classic that’s everything you want to be, and more.
De Niro’s best work in ages, Pesci lights up the screen, and Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa screaming about the Kennedys is the peak of cinema!
— Brett _________ (@BrettRedacted) September 27, 2019
THE IRISHMAN is a masterwork. Funny, epic, and most of all, melancholy. It’s Scorsese confronting aging, legacies, and mortality. I may or may not have teared up at the end…
— Chris EvangelistAHHH!!! (@cevangelista413) September 27, 2019
THE IRISHMAN: Pacino unhinges his jaw and swallows this thing whole like a python choking down a gazelle carcass, berserker mode king shit
— Charles Bramesco (@intothecrevasse) September 27, 2019
THE IRISHMAN – Audacious, epic, a film that feels like it spans lifetimes yet whisks by. Technically bold, performances raw and darkly humourous, it is the culmination of Scorsese's genre fascinations, and a late career triumph. Truly cinematic, demanding to be seen big #nyff57
— Jason Gorber @ #NYFF (@filmfest_ca) September 27, 2019
The Irishman official synopsis:
Now in his old age, WWII veteran and former mafia hitman Frank Sheeran reflects on the moments that defined his mob career, especially his role in the 1975 disappearance and murder of Jimmy Hoffa.
Based on a novel by Charles Brandt, The Irishman is written by Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List ), directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Anna Paquin and Harvey Keitel.
The Irishman will be released on Netflix on 27 November 2019.
