Al Pacino, director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro at the premiere of The Irishman at London Film Festival. Photo / AP
Al Pacino, director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro at the premiere of The Irishman at London Film Festival. Photo / AP
Martin Scorsese's latest film, The Irishman brings the filmmaker's dream-team back together for a three-and-half-hour mobster epic, and the critics are calling the film some of the cast and the filmmaker's best work.
The Irishman stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino. The movie is an adaptation of Charles Brandt's 2004 memoir I Heard You Paint Houses and chronicles the life of Frank Sheeran (De Niro).
Critics have unanimously praised Scorsese for his latest flick - it has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Guardian said it was his "finest film for 30 years", and "his best picture since GoodFellas". Both outlets gave the film five stars.
Empire said The Irishman was evidence of "a master working at the top of his game", and The IndieWire review said the film is "a pure and unbridled illustration of what has made his [Scorsese's] filmmaking voice so distinctive for nearly 50 years".
So what about The Irishman is wowing the critics so much?
Joe Pesci, left, and Robert De Niro in a scene from The Irishman. Photo / Supplied
THE TECHNOLOGY
Setting the film apart technically is the use of CGI to "de-age" the main characters.
NME said the technology was "a triumph of updated technology that it works so seamlessly - barely perceptible in the actors' youngest forms before becoming pretty much undetectable thereafter".
The New Yorker review raved about the de-aging technology too, noting "Scorsese's de-aging of the actors is more than a stunt; it's the movie's moral spine", arguing time, generations, and age are the film's central themes.
Al Pacino, director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro at the premiere of The Irishman at London Film Festival. Photo / AP
THE CAST
One thing the critics are unanimous about is the movie's epic cast. Scorsese's dream-team of actors make up The Irishman: De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino.
"Pesci, who has been mostly absent from movies for the past 20 years, is a revelation ... When he and De Niro are on screen together, you believe in the power of art," wrote A.O. Scott for The New York Times.
From NME: "Hollywood's old cronies are still the real deal - magnetic, riveting, and unique."
A scene from The Irishman. Photo / Supplied
THE LENGTH
One minute shy of three and a half hours long, the movie might be too lengthy for some. However, for Scorsese fans it might be just the ticket.
"I wouldn't wish it was any shorter," wrote The New Yorker's Richard Brody.
IndieWire's verdict is that the length doesn't matter so much: "Forget that it's a touch too long and the much-ballyhooed de-aging technology doesn't always cast a perfect spell; the movie zips along at such a satisfying clip that its flaws rarely amount to more than mild speed bumps along the way."
Anna Paquin plays Peggy Sheeran in The Irishman. Photo / AP
New Zealand's own Anna Paquin stars as the adult version of Frank Sheeran's daughter Peggy, and the reviews indicate a great performance from the actress.
The New York Times: "Though she barely says a word, her silence delivers a damning verdict on her father and his world."
The IndieWire review said the actress "says little but explains much with her eyes".
The Irishman will play at select cinemas in New Zealand from November 22, and will debut on Netflix November 27.
