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Alright, I will bite. I saw The Irishman a few weeks ago at the cinema and really loved it. I am a big Scorsese fan so not a major surprise. There has been a limited cinema release but for most people the opportunity to see will be with Netflix where it landed a day or so ago.
It is a major commitment at the cinema as it is 210 minutes. A bathroom break was unavoidable tbh. But it was great. Netflix is (rightly) criticised for many things but you can't deny their commitment to this film.
And yet. For the last 2 days there has been, perhaps unsurprisingly, a policing of HOW people watch it. This, to my mind is quite awful. The idea seems to be that if Netflix schlubs can binge watch 6 episodes of whatever TV show is going, the time for a 210 minute film is easy.
This thinking is snobbish in so many ways that I don't know where to begin. And I would rather not get bogged down except to think back to my own childhood. Which was paused VHS tapes that I came back to a day later. Missed endings to films I watching on really crappy TVs.
The main point: if you want younger people to care about film and 'older' film, stop being cunts about it. Film will always be discovered at various times and various ways. It is also worth pointing out (though it shouldn't have to be) to leave women alone who didn't like it.
I have seen women patronised for not liking The Irishman. I personally thought what Scorsese was doing with Anna Paquin's character was fascinating but it doesn't mean I am right or that anyone who has trouble with it is wrong. Stop being clichéd arseholes.
The always brilliant @_Ash_Clark tweeted out an article about racial blind spots in Scorsese films a little while ago and it got me thinking. There is plenty to chew on. It is ok for our heroes to get a critical look. No one is perfect. Lads, we need to be better at all of this.
Watch The Irishman in 10 minute intervals over months if you have to. Lives can be difficult and time at a premium (a theme of the film). Great cinema will win out regardless and always does. Anyway, I am now going to bed.
