By Dan Murphy
Martin Scorsese’s blockbuster movie “The Irishman” debuted over Thanksgiving weekend on Netflix, and most of us in Westchester have the streaming service and watched some of the movie – which is great but, at three and a half hours, is a bit too long, even to watch in the comfort of your own home.
But to watch Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Scorsese reunite, this time with Al Pacino included, is always a treat. Pacino plays Jimmy Hoffa, but does not deliver the best performance of the three. DeNiro plays the lead role of mafia hitman Frank Sheeran, who is the main character in the book “I Heard You Paint Houses,” which is the basis for the movie.
Pesci is getting Oscar buzz for his understated performance as aging mob boss Russel Bufalino.
The Irishman also uses new “de-aging” technology that allows Pesci, De Niro and Pacino to play their characters throughout the five decades that the film spans. De Niro, who was 74 at the time of filming – with many scenes in Yonkers – had to be filmed from age 25 to 75. Instead of hiring a young Frank Sheeran, De Niro, with de-aging filming, was able to play young, middle-age and older Sheeran.
The same goes for Pesci and Pacino in depicting their characters.
You may notice several Westchester locales while watching “The Irishman.” In 2018, the big three of Scorsese, De Niro and Pacino were seen filming at Yonkers City Hall, in the old courthouse that is constantly used for television series and movies because of its classic, historical and ceremonial look.
The same threesome were also seen on Lake Avenue in Yonkers, filming another scene of a streetscape in the 1950s where Hoffa (Pacino) and Sheeran (De Niro) were walking. And a memorable scene has Sheeran throwing a gun away in the Hudson River. That location is on the northern shore of the Hudson River in Yonkers near the Greystone train station.
Sheeran had just killed Crazy Joe Gallo, who was brilliantly portrayed by comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. St. John the Baptist Church on Yonkers Avenue was the location of Bill Bufalino’s wedding.
Bufalino was played by Ray Romano.
The claims made by Sheeran in his book, and in the film, include knowledge of who killed President John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Hoffa. While those claims are not believed by all, the film is certainly worth your time, and if you can’t sit for the three and a half hours, you can walk away after three hours – when somebody is killed.
I won’t spoil it for you.
