Here it is, our first look at Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. While the initial teaser revealed nothing, this first proper trailer delivers in a big way. The film looks like a classic Scorsese crime film, but on a grander scale. The budget is reportedly around $200 million, the amount of money for an MCU film. The scope of the imagery and story in this trailer are enhanced by the ominous music cues, particularly the jazz drumbeat and wail. I wonder if that’s a taste of Robbie Robertson’s score for the film. The trailer even namechecks its source material, I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt.
We also get our first look at the de-aging CG in The Irishman, which admittedly could be better. The trailer’s slow camera move to reveal a “young” Robert De Niro on the phone looks about as okay as it can given the technology today. You can tell it’s CG, though the level of distraction will vary from viewer to viewer. If it’s used too extensively, it may become a liability to the storytelling, especially if the actors are in an intense, vulnerable, emotionally devastating scene together, attempting to emote through a plastic-y, satin-y sheen of VFX.
Here is the official Netflix synopsis for The Irishman:
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci star in Martin Scorsese’s THE IRISHMAN, an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th Century. Spanning decades, the film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries and connections to mainstream politics.
The Irishman is the opening night film at the 2019 New York Film Festival. Expect a review from us at Flixist and other coverage in the coming weeks. There is no set release date for The Irishman as of now, but it will be on Netflix and in select theaters later this year.
Let us know what you think about this first look at The Irishman in the comments.
