A lot of crime historians and criminals dispute Frank Sheeran’s version of the events surrounding the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. They say he’s full of it…That he’s a wanna be gangster at best.
Be that as it may, I think he tells the truth about a lot of it.
Not that I’m an expert on the subject–thank the Lord–but I had a friend whose uncle was mixed up with the “Dixie Mafia.” That was her story, anyway.
And from what she told me, Frank Sheeran very much resembles the kind of guy who commits murders for the mafia, a guy who drives into town, pays for everything with cash, does the deed and then vanishes like a puff a smoke in his Toyota Camry, or whatever.
(Back then, when Jimmy Hoffa was alive, it would have probably been a Ford LTD…Ugly car.)
Anyway, along the way, this guy–the killer, hitman–whatever–would stop at the same kind of coffee shop…would buy only one brand of gasoline…He would stay in only one type of motel, if he decided to stop.
Or he might drive straight through.
After he killed “Hoffa”–or whoever–he–the killer–would be killed by someone lying in wait in the coffee shop parking lot…Or at the gas station…Or by someone hiding in the closet, waiting for him to enter his motel room.
All very bleak and bleary. All apparently standard stuff in a sordid world, but stuff with the ring of truth.
That’s why I think Frank Sheeran is being truthful about murder, but not about the murder of Jimmy Hoffa. Once again, a matter of nuance rather than contradiction.
Sheeran killed people, yes, but they were people like himself. Small fish.
If he’d killed Hoffa, he would have been higher up in the food chain. And he would have never lived long enough to write a book about it.
In fact, he’d probably be dead within a few hours of his victim, if you want to call Hoffa that. According to my friend’s uncle (and Tony Soprano) mob guys never hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve to be hurt.
Of course mob guys lie a lot. We all know that.
Even so, from our perspective, it doesn’t really matter if Frank Sheeran (1920-2003 ) told the truth to Charles Brandt, the author of his memoir, I Hear You Paint Houses or not. Either way it provides excellent fodder for Martin Scorsese’s latest motion picture venture.
With the exception of Casino, Scorsese always mines the lower echelon of mob life for his crime dramas. With The Irishman, he scrapes the bottom of the well once again.
Robert De Niro plays the title character. His Frank Sheeran is an adept, lumbering thug–a combination of traits that suits his vocation and is prized by his three bosses, Russell Bufalino, (Joe Pesci) the boss of the Scranton mob, Angelo Bruno (Harvey Keitel) the boss of the Philadelphia crime family and Jimmy Hoffa, (Al Pacino) president of the Teamsters Union.
In other words Sheeran is no great intellect, but he’s a lot smarter than he looks.
Predictably, his bosses underestimate him to varying degrees. Pacino gives his best performance in decades as Hoffa, who underestimates the pug mobster most of all of all. Hoffa also happens to be the closest thing to a friend that Sheeran has and he is the only man that he truly respects. Therein lies the tragedy.
And that’s really what The Irishman is. It’s a dour, tragic character study. And that’s why it isn’t as palatable as Goodfellas, which is essentially as an action film, or as melodramatic as Taxi Driver or as thematically confident as Mean Streets.
There is no glamour here. No mania. But there is desperation and subtly.
Consequently, much of Rodrigo Prieto’s cinematography is underwhelming by design which, in the age of elaborate costly studio gimmicks, makes a bolder cinematic statement than does the groundbreaking but slightly distracting, de-aging special effects.
Likewise, the soundtrack, another Scorsese hallmark, is not souped up with strutting late sixties rockers by The Rolling Stones, or lilting wall of sound masterpieces like The Ronettes Be My Baby and The Crystals Then He Kissed Me. Instead it is infused the quaint doo-wop of The Five Satins In the Still of the Night and the austere Western warbling of Marty Robbins’ A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation.
And the violence?
It’s as realistically humdrum as two close range shots to the back of the head can be, except near the end when we know what is coming, but we don’t know exactly when. Then it is as disconcerting and on the edge of your seat as any thriller could ever hope to be.
In other words, it is filmmaking at its very best.
Oh…And it’s heartbreaking too, in it’s own quiet, austere, bleak and bleary way.
That is a great and honest review….for a while here in SE Michigan,the Feds would get a Hoffa “tip” but someone claiming to have pulled the trigger or heard something. The local news would send out reporters to cover a bunch people getting paid to move tons of dirt and discover nothing. Who cares where he is at this point,right?
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Yeah, it’s one of those enduring, almost mythical questions. I would still like to know exactly what happened, but that’s between the players in this drama and God.
Thanks for reading, Michael.
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From what everyone says,Tony got killed in the last episode,they just didn’t show it.
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So pleased to see your positive review and intelligent appraisal of this film, Pam.
I don’t remember if you read my review of it, but I thought it was simply wonderful.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I don’t remember reading it, Pete. I’m going to look for your review now.
Yes, I liked this film a lot. I liked it more after I thought about it.
Thanks for reading.
–Pam
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I’m looking forward to this movie. We were ready to watch it Thursday and then something happened and we couldn’t… I did get to see the long tracking first shot…this is Scorsese’s territory and I’m excited to watch it.
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I think you will like it, Max. I must admit that at first–about the first 30 minutes–I was a little antsy. In fact, my husband and I bailed out of it. I was like, “this isn’t Goodfellas.” Duh. So, it’s slower…and it’s long. I watched it in increments. All of that said, it’s the kind of movie that sticks with you afterwards. It’s a lot like Mean Streets in that way.
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I liked it a lot. It did bog down a bit in places. I’m going to watch it again to absorb it all. Who knows if he really did it but Scorsese had me believing he did…
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Thanks for this Pam, we hope to sit in one spot long enough to watch this!
Best wishes for the New Year!
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Thanks June. For me, it was a difficult first 30 minutes…Slow. I don’t mind that, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. Personally, I think they could have shaved 30 to 40 minutes easily. Even so, it’s a masterful movie. I’m sure you will like it.
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Not gonna read just yet as I’m still to see it.
However not long now. I’m booked in New Years Eve. The family are all out and I got some Memphis Ribs, A bottle of Glenmorangie and picked myself up a cigar. Can’t wait. 🙂
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Memphis ribs huh?…Nice touch. Cheers.
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Whether they are inspired by actual Memphis traditions I have no idea. Closer to your neck of the woods! It says “a Memphis inspired mustard and herb dry rub”. Had them many times and prefer a dry rub other than the sickly sweet sticky sauce variety.
Anyhoooooo I’ve gone right off topic hehe. I’ll back in the new year for the Irishman read.
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Update my best laid plans for The Irishman on NYE went out the window. I will be back for a read when I’ve seen it but probably won’t be till Jan done. As I’ve lost my mind this week in a explosion of cheese and bazooka fodder. “I’ll be back” (yep I know me saying that is cheesy too) tara
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Great review Pam 🙂 I could not have summed up what you said any better 🙂 Nevertheless, I love this film so much (I have now watched it six times) that in the future, I plan on posting not only a review of The Irishman, but a series of essays on it since a review of a film alone is not enough to go into so many thought-provoking discussions about it.
I do not know If Frank Sheeran killed Jimmy Hoffa or not – that is going to forever be up for debate. The closest I think we can say is that he was tied to Hoffa’s disappearance in some ways (loosely or otherwise).
I remember during production of The Irishman, director Martin Scorsese and his regular film editor Thelma Schoonmaker kept reminding the press that The Irishman is not supposed to be Goodfellas. I think I know what he meant because there is nothing ultra-cool about the film’s style though it has lots of it. In many ways, The Irishman plays out as a more somber affair – a tragedy If you will. The Five Satins song “In the Still of the Night” sets the tone perfectly here as the film opens. The Irishman is a gangster epic told from an old man’s point-of-view. All of Sheeran’s closest friends and associates are gone and is brimming with regret that he was not a better father to his daughters especially Peggy (played as an adult by Anna Paquin).
If this is Scorsese’s farewell to the gangster film, all I can say is that he could not have ended it better. Out of all of them, The Irishman is not only his crowning achievement (at least in my opinion), but it may be the most mature of his five great gangster films (Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed are the other four).
Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂
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It is a great movie, no doubt. I don’t think it’ll be as popular as Goodfellas because it’s not as commercial. In many ways it hearkens back to Mean Streets, which was a much quieter film and as you state “The Irishman is a much more somber affair.”
There’s a lot of talk about whether or not it will be recognized at the Oscars. It better be. There’s no way The Academy Awards can remain relevant if it doesn’t recognize this movie.
Thanks for reading, John.
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Glad you liked it. Like you, and others, I don’t believe Sheeran killed Hoffa or Joey Gallo for that matter, but none of that bothered me. For me, it’s the best film of the year, and that in a year that had a lot of good films (Little Women, Dark Waters, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Marriage Story, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Official Secrets and Knives Out to name a few.
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I don’t believe he killed Gallo either. How sad that these things are his claim to fame…And even there he is a fraud. That’s my opinion anyway.
Speaking of notable films, have you’ve seen “Luce?” I think it belongs on your list.
Thanks for reading, John. Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year!!!
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I love your cheeky tone in the beginning as you warm us up to the topic.
Most people I come across seem to love this movie, so I don’t think I’ll be disappointed like I was after hearing the raving over Hunger Games and then walking out of there wondering if I’d gone insane ’cause I wasn’t sure what the raves were about.
Jay mentioned the anti-aging tech too and the interesting point that even though his face is younger in one scene, DeNiro is still kicking someone with the movements of an old man. I thought that was a little humorous in an ironic way.
But it still sounds like a winner. Lies, illusions, “who knows?” and all.
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Yes, I noticed the old man movement too. It didn’t bother me much because the character is an ungraceful lug and moves around with the burden of his sins, if you will. My take anyway.
I never saw the Hunger Games. I heard it was very good, but it’s not my kind of movie. Glad I never watched it.
Thanks for reading Stacey.
Happy New Year.
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Hunger Games is also a rip-off of Battle Royale, a Japanese movie. I wrote about the movies BEFORE movies here:
https://wordpress.com/post/staceyebryan.wordpress.com/498
Not that you don’t have enough to do already, lol.
I reposted this post and I think I did it wrong now that I’ve looked in there. Maybe I’ll repost it again, ’cause I think it’s a fun one. (I’m wrenching my shoulder while I pat myself on the back here).
BUT…that’s a good description: “The character is an ungraceful lug and moves about with the burden of his sins…”
Pure poetry.
Happy new year!
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I tried to access your Hunger Games post, but it sent me to another blogger’s post. Not necessarily unusual, but I couldn’t find your post on the blog scroll.? will you resend?
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Hmm….I hate that. Thanks for trying, Pam. When I posted the address in another window, it worked for me. Maybe only works for me in my computer or something?
Anyway, here’s another way in…….maybe……hopefully………..?
https://staceyebryan.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/its-deja-vu-all-over-again/
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