In terms of the Oscar race, Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” is what we thought it was, a likely Best Picture contender with a chance at a truckload of nominations. That being said, even with positive reviews there are some surprises and some challenges for Netflix in the months and weeks ahead. The first being the runtime.
READ MORE: New “Irishman” images show a digitally altered Robert De Niro through the decades
“The Irishman” Is as long as you’ve heard. It is close to three and a half hours and you feel it. Scorsese and screenwriter Steve Zaillian attempt to keep things going at a brisk pace, but there is so much history to cover the events take quite a long time to unfold. Sometimes you forget about it, sometimes you don’t. This doesn’t mean the film won’t have passionate supporters – it already does – but you have to envision some AMPAS and guild members watching it in more than one sitting. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and you can bet many members watch their for your consideration screeners piecemeal anyway. In fact, despite Scorsese’s reported initial hopes for a wide release, this is where being available on Netflix may actually help its Oscar hopes.
Already ordained as one of the world’s greatest living filmmakers, Scorsese seems like a given at this point to earn his ninth Directing nomination. There are some incredibly executed sequences in “The Irishman” that are hard to ignore despite the film’s overall sluggish start. And Scorsese’s peers will no doubt reward him for pulling off such an epic undertaking with a cast often playing half their current age.
On the acting front, the easiest contenders to consider are Al Pacino and Joe Pesci for Best Supporting Actor. It helps that the field is not insanely competitive and both Academy Award winners could earn nominations. Pacino’s performance as Jimmy Hoffa is more nuanced than previews might suggest and Pesci gives mafia boss Russell Bufalino a quiet power that makes you wish he hadn’t “retired” from acting 20 years ago. That’s about it on the supporting front, but with such a large ensemble including fine work from Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin (perhaps her finest one-word performance) Ray Romano, Jesse Plemons, and Stephen Graham, among others, a SAG Ensemble nomination should be a given. The film’s lead, Robert De Niro, is an intriguing question.
De Niro portrays Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran over the course of five decades starting (besides one flashback) at the age of 36. For a good portion of the movie, Sheeran is in his ’50s and ’60s, but the CG animation for his 30’s and 40’s is, to say it kindly, awkward. It’s not just that for some reason the de-aging on De Niro’s face seems less natural than his co-stars (in comparison you don’t notice it on Pesci or Pacino at all), but he does not have the body or walking gate of a person who is supposed to be that young. The voice also seems off. Frank doesn’t sound like what De Niro would have sounded like at that age. This isn’t De Niro’s fault, of course. At 76, the acting legend is going as strongly as his current body will let him. It does result in a disconnect that could impact how his peers view his overall performance. Without giving away any spoilers, De Niro is quite good in the last third of the film. Is that enough for him to crack the Best Actor field? We’ll find out.
In theory, Adapted Screenplay (Zaillian) Production Design (Bob Shaw), Editing (Thelma Schoomaker), Costume Design (Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson), Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Hair and Makeup nominations are all likely. This picture is Rodrigo Prieto’s third collaboration with Scorsese and for some reason, their work here is not as sharp here as the previous two efforts. Perhaps it was issues in lighting for the character CG needs or maybe just the context of the material itself. Pietro is a two-time nominee, including his work on Scorsese’s “Silence,” so he’s got a great shot, but it’s not a lock. Robbie Robertson’s score is another big question mark as this pundit found it strangely forgettable.
The other unique play for “The Irishman” is visual effects. As previously noted, the CG de-aging is a mixed bag. It’s remarkable on Pacino and Pesci, but jarring at times for De Niro. The good news for the film’s CG team is that the Visual Effects Branch has consistently nominated at least one prestige film (even if its Sci-Fi prestige) this decade for over a decade. That track record greatly helps “The Irishman’s” chances of earning a nod in this category.
Will “The Irishman” leap to Best Picture frontrunner status? We won’t know that until AMPAS members start screening it, but if they love the scope and Marty enough? Anything is possible.
“The Irishman” will be released in theaters on Nov. 1. It will debut on Netflix on Nov. 27.
