Author's Note: There's a spoiler toward the end.
Martin Scorsese is a well-known film director. From “Taxi Driver” to “Goodfellas,” he has quite the history. His most popular films would probably have to be the films in the gangster genre and “Taxi Driver.”
You know what all those films have in common? They star morally gray protagonists who either fail to achieve their goals or meet with some type of unhappy ending. “The Irishman” is no exception.
The gangster trilogy has three movies: “Goodfellas,” “Casino,” and “The Irishman.”
“Goodfellas” (1990) is all about how cool it is to be gangster. It is all about living fast and dying young and how you stay loyal to your gangster buddies, glamorizing the lifestyle.
“Casino,” (1995) on the other hand, may be the least popular of the trilogy. It has the quality acting of “Goodfellas,” but not the humor or playfulness. Still a good movie, “Casino” tried to do what “The Irishman” did years later, but audiences found it boring.
“The Irishman” (2019) definitely feels like the finale to Scorsese’s gangster movie trilogy. Most gangster movies make being a gangster look cool in some way or another. This is true for “Goodfellas” when one of the most famous quotes from that movie is “Never rat on a brother.” The movie is all about loyalty to your gangster brethren. In contrast to “The Irishman,” where there is still loyalty, but it results in the characters not getting a happy ending.
Main character Frank has to kill best friend Hoffa because Hoffa is causing a fuss about getting his union back. He regrets the crime, goes to jail, and comes out to a family that has disowned him. All his gangster buddies die before him of old age and he ends up in a nursing home in the end.
There is no redemption for Frank. The message is, unlike gangster movies, gangsters don’t age well.
Martin Scorsese is a well-known film director. From “Taxi Driver” to “Goodfellas,” he has quite the history. His most popular films would probably have to be the films in the gangster genre and “Taxi Driver.”
You know what all those films have in common? They star morally gray protagonists who either fail to achieve their goals or meet with some type of unhappy ending. “The Irishman” is no exception.
The gangster trilogy has three movies: “Goodfellas,” “Casino,” and “The Irishman.”
“Goodfellas” (1990) is all about how cool it is to be gangster. It is all about living fast and dying young and how you stay loyal to your gangster buddies, glamorizing the lifestyle.
“Casino,” (1995) on the other hand, may be the least popular of the trilogy. It has the quality acting of “Goodfellas,” but not the humor or playfulness. Still a good movie, “Casino” tried to do what “The Irishman” did years later, but audiences found it boring.
“The Irishman” (2019) definitely feels like the finale to Scorsese’s gangster movie trilogy. Most gangster movies make being a gangster look cool in some way or another. This is true for “Goodfellas” when one of the most famous quotes from that movie is “Never rat on a brother.” The movie is all about loyalty to your gangster brethren. In contrast to “The Irishman,” where there is still loyalty, but it results in the characters not getting a happy ending.
Main character Frank has to kill best friend Hoffa because Hoffa is causing a fuss about getting his union back. He regrets the crime, goes to jail, and comes out to a family that has disowned him. All his gangster buddies die before him of old age and he ends up in a nursing home in the end.
There is no redemption for Frank. The message is, unlike gangster movies, gangsters don’t age well.
