Best Pictures #63: 2019 (92nd) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: The Irishman (I Heard You Paint Houses)

by A.J.

Best Pictures #63 
2019 (92^nd) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

The Irishman (I HeardYou Paint Houses)

“It’s what it is.”

Things aren’t stated directly in the mafia. They use codes and euphemisms but everyone involved understands clearly. So, when mob hitman Frank Sheeran is told by his boss and longtime friend, Russell Bufalino, “It’s what it is” about Frank’s other longtime friend and mentor, Jimmy Hoffa, his heart crumbles.  Those words signal a point of no return for everyone involved and set into motion the final hour of Martin Scorsese’s I Heard You Paint Houses, or, The Irishman. It is also the most poignant and compelling hour of filmmaking of any film I saw from 2019. The proceeding two and a half hours, also excellently done, bring the total runtime to 3hours 29minutes. This is Scorsese’s longest film, and, also, one of the best films in the career of one of, if not the, greatest living film directors.

We learn from an elderly Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), narrating his life story from a nursing home, that a “house painter” is mafia code for a hit man. De Niro’s narration is quiet and full of reflection and regret. He isn’t narrating so much as confessing. He tells an unseen listener about a road trip he and Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) took with their wives to attend a wedding, but the real reason for the road trip was “business.” The story of the road trip acts a spring board to flashback to the 1950’s when Frank went from a union truck driver looking to make extra money to a “house painter” to bodyguard and friend of Teamsters Union president, Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino).

The screenplay, adapted by Steve Zaillian from the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, allows the characters to build their personalities and inner lives through small moments like conversations in cars or restaurants. The back and forth between the actors bring the characters and the movie to life. There are several scenes that are as tense as they are entertaining, especially Hoffa’s meeting with a rival in the teamsters, who arrives late and wearing shorts. It’s the kind of scene that Scorsese specializes in.

De Niro gives one of his best and most “Robert DeNiro” performances. Narration aside, he says as little as he can with as few words as he can, even then stammering over phrases. Emotion is just below the surface of a quiet, stony exterior. Joe Pesci comes out of retirement to give one of his best and most unexpected performances. Unlike the hot head tough guy characters he is most famous for, Pesci as Bufalino is a calm tough guy. He never has an outburst or raises his voice but his aura is no less intimidating. Here, Pesci tries to mediates potentially violent situations. He asks an agitated Hoffa if there’s “another reason” for his actions in such a calm and inoffensive tone you get the feeling that Pesci’s version of Bufalino would have been a good therapist or marriage counselor. Al Pacino is over the top as Jimmy Hoffa but his acting style works because the real-life Hoffa was an outspoken, flamboyant, larger than life personality (Jack Nicholson’s performance as Hoffa in Danny DeVito’s film, Hoffa, is among his most ostentatious). Harvey Keitel, who starred in Scorsese’s first film has a small part as the mafia boss, Angelo Bruno. He sits like a king in his restaurant booth exuding a cool but threatening presence.

The digital de-aging of the actors to make them look up to 30 years younger than their actual ages works well enough; it helps that their ages are never specified. As an effect, the de-aging is far from convincing but not very distracting, except for one shot where young Joe Pesci’s face appears to be floating over his body. The overall effect, however, is no different than dying their hair darker. However, the performances do feel richer for having the same actors in the same roles throughout the film.

Films like Mean Streets, Goodfellas, and Casino (featuring Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci) have made Scorsese synonymous with the modern gangster picture. Each of those films glamorized the criminal life to a certain extent to show its insidious appeal. There is not a bit of glamour to be found in The Irishman. There is no luxury or appeal to Frank’s lifestyle. When not carrying out hits or driving a truck across the country, he acts as a go-between for Hoffa and the mob bosses trying to diffuse potentially dangerous situations.

The Irishman is an epic film. It sprawls not over picturesque landscapes but a life in crime. It feels episodic, any complete life story would, but it flows smoothly. The doo-wop song “In the Still of the Night” by The Five Satins opens the film and plays more like a dirge than a pop song. It sets the tone for the film perfectly. The brilliant score by Robbie Robertson feels like it grew out of the film’s contemplative, somber tone. This story explores what it means to survive a life of crime and what it leaves a person with. Frank entered the criminal world to make more money to take care of his family, but there are tellingly few scenes of Frank with his family. What was it all for?

This is a long movie and it feels like a long movie—I won’t argue that—but it is also thoroughly engrossing. I was completely immersed in these lives and this world without ever wanting to be a part of them. The first two-thirds of the film builds up emotions so subtly that you are taken by surprise and overwhelmed when those emotions come into play in the final act. When Frank and Bufalino go to prison, the film doesn’t jump over their sentence, we stay with them. Scorsese knows that the real power of this story is to stay with Frank as an old man instead of using a montage or epilogue cards. This biopic of Frank Sheeren is a sad, tragic movie, but it is so well executed cinematically and emotionally that it is a joy to watch. I was reminded of a quote from the great critic Roger Ebert, “No great movie is depressing. All bad movies are depressing”

Nominees: Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Emma Tillinger Koskoff

Director: Martin Scorsese

Screenplay: Steven Zaillian, based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt

Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci

Production Companies: TriBeCa Productions, Sikelia Productions, Winkler Films

Distributor: Netflix

Release Date: November 1^st, 2019

Total Nominations:10, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Director-Martin Scorsese; Supporting Actor-Al Pacino; Supporting Actor-Joe Pesci; Adapted Screenplay-Steven Zaillian; Cinematography-Rodrigo Prieto; Costume Design-Christopher Peterson, Sandy Powell; Production Design-Bob Shaw, Regina Graves; Film Editing-Thelma Schoonmaker; Visual Effects-Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda, Stephane Grabli