This is a film…

The Irishman makes a case for what happened to Jimmy Hoffa. For those of us with any knowledge of the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, this explanation seems plausible. Add in some extra mob elements and…

Story: This is a long film but very well told. The writers start with a protagonist and walk you through his life and career with the mob and the teamsters. The premise is really that simple.

But because any story involving organized crime has so much meat to it, it takes almost three hours to fully develop. And there are no lulls in the story where you find yourself drifting off into other thoughts. You. Are. Engaged…

Kudos to Steven Zaillian for a well developed screenplay of the book, I Hear You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt.

Performances: So many of note. This film is filled with heavy-hitters and potential Oscar nominations. Main character is Robert DeNiro as Frank Sheeran; Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa; Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino; Harvey Keitel as Angelo Bruno. Actor heavy hitters, mob/teamsters heavy hitters. HEAVY HITTERS.

And even the supporting cast deliver strong performances, likely because of the material and how it is written. Special mention for Ray Romano as mob lawyer Bill Bufalino.

Overall, it’s a Martin Scorsese film, so…

Visual: There is no way to define the look of a mob film. They kinda have the same look and feel and while in most cases that’s not a good thing, mob films turn on authenticity. They have their own style and you can’t deviate from it if you want to have full credibility.

The Irishman is a made movie…

Rating: The Irishman gets an A. All 209 minutes. And it is believable. I think this means the mystery of Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance is over…

SEE THIS FILM