Okay,
so this is the first Oscar film I saw after
the nominations came out. In its defense, I watched it on a day that wasn’t the
best time to commit to a film like that (I knew it was super long, but I hadn’t
realized it was that long,) but on
the whole, it didn’t grab me. It didn’t hold my attention. I can recognize and
appreciate the good work on display, but for me, I didn’t come away wowed by
it.
The
story of Frank Sheeran, a working-class salt-of-the-earth guy who rises to
prominence as a hit man for the Bufalino crime family. Frank rubs elbows with
powerful mobsters, taking out their enemies with adept nonchalance, and he also
fosters a complicated relationship with union superstar Jimmy Hoffa.
Another
point in the film’s defense: I’ll admit that I’m not really a Martin Scorsese
person. I’ve enjoyed the films of his that I’ve seen but haven’t been wild for
them, and I haven’t seen any of his most famous/celebrated works (most of my
Scorsese experience extends to those that have come out since I was of an age
to be watching them, roughly The Aviator and
beyond.) This means I didn’t come into the film with a lot of good will and
excitement pre-loaded. He’s an excellent, well-respected director who helmed a
film starring a number of excellent, well-respected actors, but I didn’t cue up
the film shouting, “Scorsese directs De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci in a
3-and-a-half-hour mobster extravaganza!!! It’s so on!!!” I’ve seen discussion
online raving about this movie, and I don’t doubt the veracity of anyone else’s
opinion.
But
for me, it was just all right. Plenty of good work on display from all the
heavy hitters involved (Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa was probably my favorite,) but
it didn’t make me sit up and really take notice. Honestly, I thought the story
dragged. It seems to spend a lot of its time on incidents, meandering away from
a driving through line for long stretches of time. The ending in particular
takes its sweet time. After the climactic event of the film, I noted that there
was still half an hour of movie left (and, as if to rub that fact in, we
immediately cut to a long scene set in slow motion.) And yes, it needs to be
said: this is longer than the theatrical cut of The Return of the King. This is a long-ass movie, and it requires a devotion to the genre or the
director or the actors that I wasn’t prepared to muster.
Much
has been made of the aging and deaging CGI to allow Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci,
and Al Pacino to play the same characters over the span of decades. I’d say mostly, it looks okay. There’s a very
slight unanny-valley-ness to it that distracts you, especially at the youngest
points for the various characters, but overall, it’s respectable enough.
However, the fact that these actors are all men in their late 70s and move like
men in their late 70s can’t be hidden by the CGI. It’s weird to see, say, De
Niro playing Frank at maybe 40-ish (I find it hard to tell how old anyone is
supposed to be at any time in this movie) but clearly walking like a man who’s
nearly twice that age. Put that together with the just-shy-of-realistic-looking
CGI, and it definitely breaks any illusion that these characters are as the
film purports them to be (and having Joe Pesci’s Russell Bufalino repeatedly
call Frank “kid” isn’t enough to wallpaper over that.)
Where
Oscars are concerned, this movie scored a lot of nominations. Best Picture,
Director, Supporting Actor nods for Pesci and Pacino, Cinematography, a couple
of design nominations (Costumes and Production Design,) Editing, and Visual
Effects, for a total of 10.
Warnings
Violence,
language, drinking/smoking, and thematic elements.
