On the surface both movies seem similar to me. They are both by incredible directors who made some of my favorite movies. They both feature two of the best ensemble casts I’ve seen. They both are dramas based on real events with moments of comedy, and both endings are supposed to upend expectations. They both are somewhat slow and meandering. And they both have been hyped and praised, surely front runners for the Golden Globes and Oscars.So why was it that I loved Once Upon a Time and would have stayed in that world another 3 hours, but was more disappointed in the Irishman than any movie I can remember?A few thoughts. . .I was lost by the de-aging in the Irishman for the first two hours. Pesci and Pacino looked fine, but De Niro never looked or moved like he was younger than 55. The grocer stomping scene was embarrassing, the fakest violence I’ve seen in a movie this lauded. Though the beginning was poorly made, I thought the last 45 minutes of the Irishman was heartbreaking.The world building was so much better in Hollywood. From the drive in that Pitt lived behind to the extended TV western scene with Leo, I got to know the places and the people. In the Irishman, I had no idea where or when it was taking place most of the time, and never got interested in any characters beyond the main three (except maybe Ray Romano).The jokes actually landed in Once Upon a Time. The payoff with the flamethrower in the pool had me in stitches, but when was The Irishman supposed to be funny (as many reviews and Redittors say)? When Pacino was ranting about wearing shorts to a meeting? I didn’t laugh once.Pacing. You got so much character development and tension in one scene on the Manson Family ranch, while the breakdown in relations between Hoffa and the mob took several repetitive phone calls and heart to hearts and menacing stares over a half hour. In Once Upon a Time, it was crucial to know Susan Tate’s story beforehand to build tension for the finale. Her primary character trait, innocence, was deftly shown in her trip to the movies and bookshop and a few earlier scenes. I think the same is true of Hoffa, but I felt like the tension was squandered because his stubbornness had to be emphasized again and again in so many repetitive scenes.I’m probably going to get downvoted to hell for this, but I wanted to share my opinion since I scrolled through hundreds of posts in the main Irishman discussion without seeing any real negative takes on the whole movie (though many others hated the grocer stomping scene). via /r/movies https://ift.tt/37NHuCv
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