The beauty of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman lies not in its exclamations but its subtleties—weaving a grandiose narrative with surgical precision. It is in its ability to convey that extraordinary narrative in ordinary ways. The characters are touching, when they could be construed as anything but that. After all, they’re mobsters. This level of humanness is impressive for Scorsese’s standards, compared to greats like Taxi Driver, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Departed. It marks Scorsese’s maturation as an artist, a wiser and more sentimental one. Despite The Irishman’s fireworks, it is a cold, enthralling, 3.5-hour epic.
The film is consummate. The screenplay is marvelous, the historical anecdotes are smart, the pacing is smooth, the set is apt, the shots are beautiful, the soundtrack is great, and the result is enlightening. Based on a true story and featuring historical figures (with an ensemble including Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, & Joe Pesci—who were all brilliant), The Irishman combines the merits of a documentary feature and an ambitious epic. The only “drawback” is its length. But it’s already on Netflix. So you could just break up your viewing into 3-5 sections.
Rating: 8.5/10
I decided when I saw it a few months ago that I wouldn’t review The Irishman. I thought it would generate enough hype on its own, everyone would watch *the new Scorsese,* and it would rack up many accolades. But now that I get the feeling it will be snubbed of several deserved awards tonight at the Oscars, I had to post a mini review. Here are my picks.
*Bonus Content*: Luke’s Oscar Predictions
Best Picture
Who Should Win: Parasite
Who Will Win: Parasite—Upset Alert: 1917 is the heavy favorite
Best Actor
Who Should Win: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
Who Will Win: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)—This should be his 4th Oscar (Gladiator, Walk the Line, The Master, Joker), but he often gets snubbed
Best Actress:
Who Should Win: Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story) or Renee Zellweger (Judy)
Who Will Win: Renee Zellweger (Judy)
Best Director
Who Should Win: Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) or Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood)
Who Will Win: Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)—Upset Alert: Sam Mendes (1917) is the heavy favorite
Best Original Screenplay:
Who Should Win: Parasite
Who Will Win: Parasite
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Who Should Win: The Irishman or Little Women
Who Will Win: Jojo Rabbit
Best Supporting Actor:
Who Should Win: Joe Pesci (The Irishman) or Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood)
Who Will Win: Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood)
Best Supporting Actress:
Who Should Win: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
Who Will Win: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
Best Cinematography:
Who Should Win: 1917 or The Irishman
Who Will Win: 1917
Best Foreign Language Film:
Who Should Win: Parasite
Who Will Win: Parasite
Best Animated Feature:
Who Should Win: I Lost My Body or Toy Story 4
Who Will Win: Toy Story 4
Best Documentary Feature:
Who Should Win: For Sama or American Factory
Who Will Win: American Factory
Best Original Score:
Who Should Win: Joker
Who Will Win: Joker
Best Production Design:
Who Should Win: Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Who Will Win: Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Best Film Editing:
Who Should Win: Parasite or Ford v Ferrari
Who Will Win: Parasite
Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Who Should Win: Bombshell
Who Will Win: Bombshell
Best Costume Design:
Who Should Win: Little Women or Jojo Rabbit
Who Will Win: Little Women
Best Sound Editing:
Who Should Win: 1917
Who Will Win: 1917
Best Sound Mixing:
Who Should Win: 1917
Who Will Win: 1917
Best Visual Effects:
Who Should Win: 1917 or Avengers: Endgame
Who Will Win: 1917
Snubbed of Nominations: Best Picture – Portrait of a Lady on Fire & Uncut Gems; Best Actor – George MacKay (1917); Best Actress – Cate Blanchett (Where’d You Go, Bernadette); Best Director – Greta Gerwig (Little Women).
Final Update: The ones I missed were Best Sound Editing and Best Film Editing, which both went to Ford v Ferrari instead of 1917. Goodnight!
I’ll have to watch it at some point.
Feel free to comment your thoughts if you do!
Ok now I have to watch this movie.
Thx for the review!
Enjoy!
In case anybody didn’t see, Parasite is the first foreign language film to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture. So happy they indeed pulled off the upset!
Wow, pretty accurate!!!
Thank you. What a fun night!
Good call on Bong Joon Ho pulling off the upset for Best Director. Hope you’re right – that they win Best Picture too.
Thanks! And yep. Let’s gooo! They’ve got this.
U got it! Impressive! Boon 4 Best Director AND Parasite 4 Best Picture. Congrats Luke…
Thank you so much. Boon and Parasite deserved it, after all!
indded they did..
😜
You are doing a great job at choosing the winners. I thought Best Sound Editing was going to 1917 too. We have a lot of the same picks, but I did not see Parasite so I excluded it. I watch a lot of Asian dramas and I heard it is actually nothing new if you are familiar with Asian films. I will watch it later.
Thank you! Glad we had similar picks. And I’m actually not an expert of Asian dramas, but my two favorite films of all time could technically be considered Asian dramas in a way—Lost in Translation and Spirited Away. What are your favorites? Hope you enjoy Parasite!
I am very curious how you chose those films as your favourite. I abe hard to list.m very disappointed that 1917 did not win. It would be hard to list my favourite films. I think I have one list for the heart and one for the head.
On my top 10 list? Well, for what it’s worth, it wasn’t my top 10 favorites. It was more like a combo of what I liked the most and what I thought was of the highest quality, which didn’t often intersect because there are so many films out there. I kind of just stuck with my gut and kept both my subjective interpretation and what I consider to be my most objective interpretation in mind. You know? Kind of like what you were saying with one for the heart and one for the head, indeed!
Oh wait, sorry I read your most recent comment out of context. Now I see that you were referring to Lost in Translation and Spirited Away. My bad. I’d just read them as notifications and thought you were referring to my top 10. Lost in Translation has to be my favorite because of the way it consistently makes me feel, the extent to which it impresses me artistically, and the impact it’s had on my life. With Spirited Away it’s similar in all of those except not quite to the same extent. Sorry for the confusion!
So I believe we agree. I think you worded it better than I did. I really do know how to write in English. 🙂 I lived in Europe for a long time and I forgot some words. Did you write a review on Spirited Away and Lost in Translation? I’m curious why you like them.
I’ve spent way, way too much time with words in my short time alive; naturally we’ve built up a relationship enough to where I’m comfortable using them, but I love that you—on the contrary—have challenged yourself and lived in places where English isn’t the main language. Love it! I want to live in Spain and/or France some day. Where have you been? And honestly I think it’d be way too long of a comment for me to describe why I love Lost in Translation and Spirited Away so much, but I’ll give it a shot tomorrow if that’s okay with you. I haven’t reviewed them yet, but they’re naturally on my list to do eventually. I just wanted to get some reviews of current films out before I deviate to the past, you know?
I have lived in Austria, France, Germany and mostly Hungary. Hungary was home for a long time. I have visited England, Slovenia, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Turkey, Canada, and Mexico. I have a lot more I must see one day. I want to visit many Asian countries and Australia. I think perhaps I would like to live in Japan or Thailand. I could easily move back to France. It is not easy to do unless you have a lot of money.
Wow, that is incredible. Love all of those countries you’ve lived in (except Hungary, which I’ve never been to). Cheers to touring the world! Yeah I definitely want to visit many Asian countries too, from the UAE to Japan, as well as Australia and New Zealand. And France seems like the ideal place! Hope you get back there eventually.
And I’m so glad Parasite won but I get why you’d be frustrated about 1917. Still a tremendous film, too!
^
Dang, there goes my streak. Best Sound Editing goes to Ford v Ferrari, not 1917. Congrats to them!
Still killing it man
Thanks, bro!
Once upon a hollywood was surprisingly good as well. I liked them both.
Yes! Almost always love Tarantino films but even then, Once Upon a Time is one of his best ones!
<3
Succinct review. Good job. Your predictions seem defenitely accurate
Thanks. Just checked out your blog and love all of the works of art you’ve posted. Keep it up!
🙂
Love ur posts as usual hun. Now I got a guide 4 tonight
That’s my goal! Hope the guide is reasonably accurate. Have a really fun night!
I know it will be. I remember around when I first followed u, that was when u got every pick right (Moonlight year). U got this!
Haha I’m impressed you remember! Tbh the night I peaked in life…
hehe tank u. ok dude have fun tonight!
🤠
nice list dude!
though if I may I’m surprised you picked parasite for best picture and director. i agree that it deserves both but it seems like 1917 has the momentum…
Couldn’t agree more. 1917 has the momentum, the merit, and the fact that probably more people have seen it—due both to being an American war film and its high budget and marketing—but my gut feeling says Parasite.
I respect it. sometimes the gut feeling is more raw n natural
I think because while 1917 has more overall fans, Parasite has more hardcore fans that view it is the absolute film of the year. Guess we’ll see, though!
great point! okay, hope u have a gr8 night!
Likewise. Good luck to Parasite!
Hell yeah. Upset plzzz
Damn. You were right. Very impressive
Gotta trust the gut feeling lol
Haha indeed. Thank you, David!