I have the greatest respect for Mr. Scorsese. I adore that he brought the band together of Gangster Film Greats: Deniro, Pacino and Pesci. Even the supporting cast are heavyweights: Paquin, Keitel, and Romano. The casting was a great business choice; it surely got us all to watch, didn't it?
However, this film was seriously miscast for the story. The roles these guys were playing belonged to actors 30 years younger than they are; and in the case of "The Kid" Deniro: 50 years younger than him; and even though Scorsese tried to overcome this issue with technology, the 30 years gap is simply too hard to breach. I wonder... why is this subject being blatantly ignored? Can you imagine how the public would be up in arms if women played roles written for someone 30 years younger? Would that movie receive even one Oscar nomination? On this year alone, 2020, I have watched several films where women in their 20s portray characters in their 30s, and good luck finding a movie with actresses in their 40s or 50s.
On a positive note: This movie is very well researched. For me, to see this on Netflix was the best venue possible. I watched it twice. The first time, I watched the full movie over 2 days, and the second time, on my computer with the occasional split-screen while I googled the names and delved deeper into the stories of the Chicago Mafia characters, the government guys who ended up in the Nixon impeachment hearings, the Bay of Pigs, etc. I loved it.
However, this film was seriously miscast for the story. The roles these guys were playing belonged to actors 30 years younger than they are; and in the case of "The Kid" Deniro: 50 years younger than him; and even though Scorsese tried to overcome this issue with technology, the 30 years gap is simply too hard to breach. I wonder... why is this subject being blatantly ignored? Can you imagine how the public would be up in arms if women played roles written for someone 30 years younger? Would that movie receive even one Oscar nomination? On this year alone, 2020, I have watched several films where women in their 20s portray characters in their 30s, and good luck finding a movie with actresses in their 40s or 50s.
On a positive note: This movie is very well researched. For me, to see this on Netflix was the best venue possible. I watched it twice. The first time, I watched the full movie over 2 days, and the second time, on my computer with the occasional split-screen while I googled the names and delved deeper into the stories of the Chicago Mafia characters, the government guys who ended up in the Nixon impeachment hearings, the Bay of Pigs, etc. I loved it.