I Heard You Paint Houses/ The Irishman

Started by MacGuffin, October 02, 2008, 01:02:06 AM

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wilberfan

Currently 100% on RottenTomatoes (33 reviews) and 90 on Metacritic.  I didn't realize it had a 3 hour 29 minute run time.

wilberfan


Drenk

Ascension.

wilberfan

I was thinking the same thing. Not that I've ever seen...

polkablues

I distinctly remember reading something where he did some shitting on the movie "Go," but I can't seem to figure out the magic string of keywords that will make Google find it for me.
My house, my rules, my coffee

Drenk

There was Fight Club. But that was transparently linked to his father cancer.
Ascension.


Alethia

Spoiler: ShowHide

I wasn't expecting this much sadness. Which is not to say there aren't a ton of hilarious moments, because there are (particularly from Pacino, who, along with his small part in Once Upon a Time..., hasn't been this delightful in years). It's about getting old; living with deep regret as your body gradually falls apart, trying feebly to atone for your sins only to find very quickly that it's too late, that your attempts to make amends for those who've suffered due to your selfishness are actually merely a core symptom of said selfishness and there ain't no redemption coming. Living with the regret of betrayal, friendships/family needlessly lost, ... coming to the end of a life with no real wisdom or insight or even basic understanding of why you've done the things that you've done, hurt the people you've hurt, seen the things you've seen, ended up where you've ended up, and suddenly, the world has moved on, all the icons of your life lost to the quicksand of history and no one even remembers their names. This is easily De Niro's best work since...Jesus, what was the last film he was even kinda decent in? Silver Linings Playbook? (Not a fan of that movie, but he had some touching moments.) He has a scene maybe 30 mins from the end where the terrible truth of the situation he is in, that he desperately tried to stop but could not and instead had to put into motion to save his own skin, sees him attempting to feign ignorance/innocence on a phone call to a concerned party and he's so heartbroken and full of self-hatred that he struggles to string together even a basic coherent sentence and it just goes on and on and it hurts like hell.

The film is very sedate. It crawls, it breathes, it naps (lotsa naps), it digresses, it explodes abruptly, it laughs nervously, it blinks in knuckle-headed befuddlement as we wind almost Gump-like through a series of major historical events spanning post-WW2 America. Comparisons to Silence have mostly to do with the pace, the patience of Scorsese's touch. It doesn't have the coke-addled needle-drop kinetic energy of his best-known work. Everyone here seems to be playing against type, while donning ostensibly familiar clothes. Joe Pesci, in particular, quietly stuns. Usually the loud-mouthed psychotic brute, here he's just an old, stately mob boss, his calm and reserve as menacing as the constant threat of Tommy DeVito's explosive violence.

The de-aging effects aren't quite there yet - they're initially jarring, but you quickly grow used to them and it's more or less fine throughout. The performances are so strong across the board that it really doesn't detract/distract in any way.

I am desperate to see this again. There's just so much to take in and I was on about 2 hours of sleep - it's long but I wouldn't cut a frame. My initial impression is that it's kind of perfect, and hopefully a harbinger of things to come - surprising considering how late in the game this has appeared.

Also some very cool mischief going on with the title cards. Scorsese's still a punk.

©brad


Alethia

All my uncles have "disowned" him due to, ahem, problematic politics  :shock:

I'm sure Bobby's really feeling the loss.


jenkins

it's interesting that the first tweet could easily apply to Gangsters of New York. it could in fact pronouncedly apply to that movie. so this has been a theme in Scorsese's mind, and i imagine this one weaves together lush textures

JG

just chiming in to say i had a chance to see this last week and its amazing! this thing is long and much more deliberately-paced than goodfellas or casino or wolf, but it FLIES by. this is an effortless 3.5 hours.

i actually think del toro is spot in discussing deniro's performance, he's very good, but for me Pacino was the standout.  he's amazing and i would be surprised if he doesn't get at least a little bit awards recognition... he seems to slip into middle-age with more ease than deniro or pesci.

the effects are a bit odd but you get comfortable with them very quickly. at a certain point you stop thinking about it.

this movie made me want to re-read libra and re-watch JFK.

for my money, scorsese's last three movies have been a revelation and a real treat!!! can't wait for the xixax fam to get to enjoy this one - i bet you love it!!


wilberfan

This is extremely spoiler-filled, but I highly recommend this Q&A with Spike Jones & Scorsese AFTER you've seen the film.   

https://soundcloud.com/thedirectorscut/the-irishman-with-martin-scorsese-and-spike-lee-episode-224

Drenk

What's your The Irishman/I've Heard You Paint Houses take? I need some dissent.
Ascension.