Martin Scorsese is a very rare breed of storyteller. Few filmmakers share his gift of framing an epic sweeping narrative with top notch cinematography and historic performances from some of the best in their field. Although he’s dabbled in several genres over the course of his storied career, the crime drama is where Scorsese really seems to be the most comfortable. Beginning with his breakthrough film “Mean Streets” in 1973 starring Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel, it established an almost signature style for Scorsese that he would repeat several times with an almost unmatched or unrivaled level of success both critically and commercially. Now, Scorsese has brought his most ambitious film in years both in size and subject matter, telling the story of Frank Sheeran, the man who allegedly killed infamous Teamster Union President Jimmy Hoffa in “The Irishman”.

Robert De Niro plays Sheeran, a delivery driver for a meat packing company who winds up entangled with the Bufalino crime family in northeast Pennsylvania. He finds himself moving quickly from delivery driver to killer and arsonist, currying favor with the higher ups in the organization. Eventually he is introduced by Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) to the immensely popular and powerful head of the Teamsters, Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), eventually becoming his close confidant and bodyguard. The story that unfolds details the twists and turns that Sheeran’s life and career takes as his involvement with Hoffa and the criminal underworld begins to deepen and the toll it begins to take on his health and his family life.

Robert De Niro, a Scorsese mainstay, along with fellow castmates Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel, have been a part of the Scorsese film family from a very early stage, and it’s on full display here. Having worked together as long and as often as they have, they have a natural onscreen chemistry that just can’t be faked. Pacino, while having worked with De Niro before, is the outsider in this ensemble, and his Pacino-ness is on full display here. While Keitel isn’t given all that much to do in this film, De Niro, Pesci and Pacino carry the weight here. It’s truly a delight to see De Niro and Pesci together again as it truly feels like these guys are at their absolute when they work together. It’s truly cinematic gold….but Pacino has seemingly fallen into a routine in the last several years of his career where he just seems to be playing the same character over and over again….HIMSELF! At NO time did Pacino disappear for me while attempting to channel Hoffa. He came off as more Big Boy Caprice from “Dick Tracy’ than he did as the President of the Teamsters Union. I’m not sure if that was intentional and that’s just how Hoffa WAS, but I kinda doubt it. I respect the living HELL out of Pacino, but sometimes he just needs to dial it back a few notches and not be so hellbent on chewing as much scenery around him as he possibly can.

“The Irishman” is a true labor of love for Scorsese, When De Niro read the novel “I Heard You Paint Houses” by Charles Brandt on which the film is based, Scorsese was moved by De Niro’s emotional reaction to Sheeran’s story and became determined to bring the story to life, despite languishing in development Hell for several years, and a budget that exceeded $150 million mostly due to the truly impressive de-aging CGI applied to the principal actors faces as the story covers a 40-year timespan. Scorsese seems just as comfortable as ever in what seems to be “his element”. It’s hard to argue that there’s probably not a greater director that spins a true crime yarn better than he does. Films ranging in diversity and scope like “Gangs of New York” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” to stories that share a lot of connective tissue like “Casino”, “The Departed” and the absolute masterpiece that is “Good Fellas”…this is where Scorsese really shines.

Heck, he even directed the short for Michael Jackson’s “Bad” that gave us a portrait of inner-city youth constantly exposed to gang violence and petty crime trying to make it out of the hood. He miraculously gave MJ “street cred”! But as lofty of an achievement as THAT may have been, how does this film stack up against his past epics in this genre? In a word? Exceptionally! Is it as strong as stalwart masterpieces such as “The Godfather” or even Scorsese’s own “Good Fellas”? I can’t say that it is…but I don’t think that was what Scorsese was trying to do here. Scorsese is SUCH an effective storyteller that I don’t feel disappointed or cheated if I’m not watching his next masterpiece

The film continues to be mired in controversy due mainly to its unconventional release strategy and incredibly long runtime. The film is an incredible tour-de-force of acting performances, with powerhouse performance by the three leads that will surely be remembered come Oscar time. The runtime tends to bog things down in the last act a bit, but the film is still a testament to the craft and a worthy addition to the pantheon of Scorsese’s finest work. It may be a lot to ask of audiences to sit in a cramped theatre seat for over 3 hours, and most filmgoers will find it hard to justify doing so. It’s not a film that really demands a full-blown IMAX/Dolby Cinema type experience and it will most likely be easier digested at the viewers own pace once it goes on demand on Netflix. The theatrical run is so brief and limited that Netflix is how most people will experience it anyway, and it almost feels like it could have been broken down and told more effectively as a multi part limited series on the streaming platform in episodic format but regardless, the experience is a rewarding one, however it may be achieved.