The Irishman is not a movie about Jimmy Hoffa, he's a very large part of the movie but it's a story of Frank Sheeran. The weird thing is that The Irishman gave me more insight as to who Hoffa was and what he did. It's weird because Hoffa is a 140 minute movie about his life and yet it feels more like a movie about Danny DeVito's character. I feel like without watching The Irishman first I would not have understood a lot of the movie. For example, the Irishman does a much better job of showing why Hoffa went to jail and why he had a feud with Robert Kennedy. This films approach is just too vague and doesn't get into enough detail. It also feels too sappy in parts, I was not a fan of the soundtrack at all. That's not too say it's without its merits. I liked DeVito's directing style and although he might've be trying too many camera tricks he definitely did not deserve a Razzie nomination. Additionally, the acting is pretty good all around even though Nicholson is not as good as Pacino and DeVito is tough to buy as an enforcer and a ladies man. Finally, I thought some scenes were very stellar such as the hunting trip scene. All in all, it's enjoyable in parts but mainly mediocre and failed to give me the insight into the titular character that I hoped to gain from it.
Review of Hoffa
