Robert De Niro.
Joe Pesci.
Al Pacino.
Martin Scorsese.
If you love movies, that's pretty much all you need to know about The Irishman, Scorsese's
star-studded adaptation of Charles Brandt's I Heard You Paint Houses.
The film contains some of its cast's best performances ever, especially when it comes
to Pacino, who plays Union Leader Jimmy Hoffa.
Set across multiple decades, The Irishman begins when Hoffa is at the height of his
power, then slowly traces the union boss' decline.
Throughout it all, Pacino proves why he's one of the greatest actors of his generation
as he imbues Hoffa with a real, nuanced humanity even while portraying him as the larger-than-life
figure he really was.
Pacino's performance really comes together about two hours into The Irishman, when Hoffa
is nearing his lowest point.
As he tries to regain control of the Teamsters, Hoffa meets with Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano
in an effort to get the mobster's endorsement.
The conversation that follows starts out incredibly tense, and it only gets worse from there.
In fact, it's the one scene in The Irishman you should go to for proof that Al Pacino
is truly one of the greats - so let's break down the different aspects of Pacino's performance
that make it all work so well.
Al Pacino may not do as many conventional comedies as his Irishman co-star Robert De
Niro, but when he tries, he's really, really funny.
The Irishman proves it.
The last piece of advice Hoffa gives to his son is a good example.
"Chuck, listen to me.
Never put a fish in your car.
You never get the smell out.
Unless you pack it tight, ya know?"
"No, I know."
"Ya know?
Remember that."
It's absurd, but Pacino delivers the line with so much fatherly sincerity you can't
help but laugh.
But Pacino's funniest moments in The Irishman come during Hoffa's epic showdown with Tony
Pro, truly his best scene in the film.
When Tony arrives, he and Hoffa immediately begin bickering about punctuality, Florida
traffic, and whether or not shorts are appropriate meeting attire.
The two men are deadly serious, but it's easy to imagine those same conversations playing
out word-for-word on a show like Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm.
"Can you believe this weather, Frank?
It's 85 degrees outside.
Perfect."
"Hey Tony."
"People freezing to death in New York, and look at us."
"It's summer."
"What?"
"It's summer.
People aren't freezing to death in New York.
It's summer."
Now, it's hard to overstate just how perfect casting Pacino as Hoffa really is.
Throughout his 14-year run as the president of the Teamsters, Hoffa was a major political
player and had a huge influence on American culture.
These days, thanks to his disappearance in 1975, he's taken on a near-mythological status.
It's a role that begs for a legendary actor.
Thankfully, Pacino fits the bill.
Earlier in The Irishman, Pacino's Hoffa demands attention.
Watch as he introduces himself to Sheeran during a "casual" phone chat that's really
anything but.
"He likes to talk, don't he?"
"Thought I was talking to General Patton."
And that's what makes the Tony Pro meeting so enthralling.
When the meeting starts, Hoffa is in complete control.
He shuts Tony down with a quick joke.
He laughs condescendingly when Tony blames his tardiness on traffic.
You can't take your eyes off him.
"Am I beneath you?"
"Definitely."
"Jimmy, come on."
But then Tony Pro, played to perfection by Stephen Graham, refuses to back down.
He calls Hoffa out on his hypocrisy.
He gets under Hoffa's skin - and, suddenly, all of Hoffa's charisma is gone - a perfectly
executed Pacino transformation.
Hoffa begins floundering, and in an instant he's not the commanding presence we expect.
He's desperate.
The change is instantaneous and remarkable.
Many actors have stage presence, but very few can turn it on or off as-needed while
the scene goes on.
Whether he's introducing gangsters to his little friend, yelling at a judge in a crowded
courtroom, sticking it to Dick Tracy under layers of make-up, barking orders at the Miami
Sharks, or hamming it up as the literal devil, Al Pacino has never been afraid to go big.
It's one of his trademarks.
"You see that?"
"I did."
"It was good though, huh?
I got my hips in it."
Compared to many of his other performances, Pacino's turn as Jimmy Hoffa in The Irishman
is actually pretty constrained.
Still, this is Pacino.
Even when he's holding back, you know there's something wilder lurking under the surface,
and it makes every scene with Hoffa that much more tense.
"Who invited you?"
"Hey Jimmy."
"Who da f--- are you?"
In the meeting with Tony Pro, it finally comes out, if only for a second.
Throughout the meeting, Tony Pro demands an apology from Hoffa for a slight he suffered
the last time the two met, and Pacino finally unleashes his inner madman.
From that point on, Hoffa becomes more and more unhinged, and Pacino's performance grows
increasingly manic.
By the time Sheeran informs Hoffa that the mafia won't back him as Teamsters leader,
he's in full-blown conspiracy mode, eyes bugging out as he threatens to blackmail the entire
mob.
It all starts with Tony Pro, though, and that brief moment when Pacino finally lets loose
with the over-the-top intensity he's famous for.
The Irishman's Hoffa has all of the trademarks of a Pacino character, but somehow Pacino
manages to disappear into the role completely.
Pacino doesn't look like the real-life Jimmy Hoffa, and anytime you see him onscreen, you
can clearly tell, yeah - that's Al Pacino.
And yet, Pacino's Hoffa feels real and lived in, with his own set of quirks.
"Frank I'm gonna hang up on you now.
Please, understand this.
Okay?"
Al Pacino is one of the most famous and recognizable actors on the planet, and as we've discussed,
there are certain things he brings to every role.
However, as The Irishman proves, he's able to take those elements and remix them in different
ways, crafting whole new characters from familiar pieces.
Jimmy Hoffa is both the quintessential Al Pacino character and a whole new creation,
and The Irishman is all the better for it.
"I'm controlling everything.
Don't worry about it, but certainly, certainly.
I… you know.
Come on.
Okay guys, get out of here."
Thanks for watching.
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