Few directors command attention on the level of a Martin Scorsese. When he has a new film coming out, whether you’re a cinephile or not, it’s a big deal. When that new film returns him to the gangster genre that is his wheelhouse, and features a cast of heavyweights including Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, then people start clearing their calendars.
Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for their hotly anticipated fall release The Irishman, affording curious parties (both morbidly and not) the opportunity to get an eyeful of the digitally de-aged De Niro featured in a segment of the film. On a scale from one to Tom Hanks in the Polar Express, this first look is not exactly encouraging. But Marty’s a known tinkerer, often fine-tuning his films mere days before a release or festival premiere.
De Niro leads the film as Frank Sheeran, a World War II vet turned mob enforcer upon his return from the front. (The film jumps between present-day De Niro as an aging, bitter Frank and his computerized doppelganger during the spring-chicken years.) Pacino stars as Jimmy Hoffa, the teamsters union’s leader who mysteriously vanished in 1975, and Pesci supports as Cosa Nostra crime boss Russell Buffalino.
For those expecting nothing more than their favorite actors delivering wiseguy dialogue in smoky midcentury rooms, the trailer will satisfy and then some. But for those with a set idea about what a Martin Scorsese pictures looks, behaves, and feels like, the new clip raises some concerns.
The filmmaker has more than earned the benefit of the doubt, but something about this trailer has a chintzy imitation-Scorsese feeling much closer to one of the works he executive-produces than directs. (Think along the lines of Vinyl rather than The Wolf of Wall Street.) Those that question the master generally wind up eating their words, however. Factory-issue trailer or no, cinephiles will be ready and waiting for the latest gospel of Scorsese.
The Irishman will debut at the New York Film Festival as the opening night selection on 27 September, then get a global release through Netflix later in the fall.
Published 31 Jul 2019
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