Admittedly, I love Scorsese movies, but even so, this is brilliant and quite different than his other work. The movie went by very quickly for us, although we did watch nearly 2 hours one nite and the rest the next. The acting is superb and the storytelling is wonderful. As has been said, Pesci is understated brilliance and Pacino hits every key, although it's his usual bombast in some parts. I don't know why DeNiro, the real star of the movie and the main character, isn't getting accolades he deserves in nominations thus far. I hope the other award shows make it up to him because he is a virtuoso- a damn master class of pitch perfect acting. He has many scenes where he just conveys it all through his eyes. The standout scenes where he realizes he must follow orders and another when he calls a widow, he doesn't really have much dialogue yet the performance is staggeringly superb. The movie overall is not just a denouement of the gangster lifestyle, but it also translates to any of us who may be fortunate to get old- what has meaning in the end and who and what's important. Just heartbreakingly brilliant.
Review of The Irishman
