Such a moment is signature Scorsese, who paints the frame with layers. His best work is a cooking scene where he’s symbolically cooking up a murder plot. This time, Pesci plays the opposite of his hothead Tommy DeVito in “Goodfellas,” playing more of the strong, silent Jimmy Conway, doing most of his talking with his eyes with devilish details between the glances. While Pacino could earn his first Oscar nomination since “Scent of a Woman” (1992), he’ll have to compete against Pesci, who came out of retirement for likely his final appearance. Naturally, he rips his rival to shreds like Moe Green in “The Godfather.” His most compelling scene finds him irked that Anthony Provenzano (Stephen Graham) arrived more than 10 minutes late to a meeting in casual Floridian clothes. Curiously, Hoffa doesn’t appear until an hour into the picture, but once he arrives, you can’t take your eyes off him. While De Niro is our stoic vessel, Pacino steals the show as Hoffa, whose hubris gives him a tragic sense of invincibility. He provides a definitive answer, but the script is less concerned with the mystery than the character study of those involved, using the framing device of Frank sharing his deadly memories from the sterile confines of his retirement home.Īs such, De Niro does the heavy lifting, playing the same mobster from young man to aging retiree. Much has been made of the digital de-aging process, which takes some getting used to as you can’t recreate the brash De Niro circa Travis Bickle on a Jack Byrnes body frame. What doesn’t change are De Niro’s piercing eyes, holding court with Ray Romano, rubbing elbows with Harvey Keitel and warning Pacino he’s about to be whacked in not so many words: “It’s what it is.” Oscar-winning screenwriter Steve Zaillian (“Schindler’s List”) doesn’t leave us hanging with an ambiguous ending.

Rumors have swirled for decades over Hoffa’s fate, some claiming his body is buried beneath New York Giants stadium. Business & Finance Click to expand menu.

Goodfellas vs casino vs the irishman