Movie Review: GoodFellas (1990)
It took me this long to see this movie. (It blew me away.)
But so this movie came out when I was a 16-year-old sci-fi nerd. Having not yet seen “The Godfather,” at that time, I didn’t get the mystique and appeal of mob movies… and it somehow eluded me ever since.
Until last night…
Boy, did it not disappoint. What an incredible freaking film!
My first thought was that Paul Thomas Anderson must love this movie. Both “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia” echo the structure, beats, and narrative devices of “GoodFellas.” One gets a major case of the “Halloween Effect” watching this.1
One of the reasons I never got around to watching this masterpiece is that it doesn’t have a composer listed, and - in fact - has no original score at all. Film music is a huge part of my life, so the absence dropped it down on my “what classic should I watch?” list. But what that absence belies is a series of absolutely flawless needle drops that propel the narrative forward for almost 3 hours. Never seen anything like it. The songs help establish time, place, and mood with absolute perfection, while dramatically upping the pace.
Ray Liotta is wonderful here as the lead, Henry Hill, a half-Irish kid from Brooklyn who becomes a major player in the Italian mafia. DeNiro as Jimmy The Gent is unflashy and completely in his wheelhouse. The real standout here is Joe Pesci, who puts in an unhinged and terrifying performance (Oscar-nominated for good reason) as loud-mouthed, thin-skinned psychopath, Tommy DeVito. Lorraine Bracco is tremendous (also Oscar-nominated) as Hill’s longsuffering wife, Karen. Cameo from a young Samuel L. Jackson. Stellar acting all around.
J. J. Abrams and his frequent collaborators are fond of a narrative device that “GoodFellas” really puts a stamp on. Namely, starting a film in media res2 (the man in the trunk), stopping at a dramatic point, then flashing back to show how the characters got into that predicament. Scorcese takes his time, allowing Henry to narrate pretty much his entire life story leading up to the night with the man in the trunk.
A couple of the plot twists had me gasping audibly, especially Pesci’s big day. Immersive and captivating, the cinematography is jaw-dropping. The long one-take shot from the street into the discotheque at the beginning of “Boogie Nights” is a direct reference to the long one-take shot from the street into the nightclub in this.
Can’t believe it took me this long to watch this film, but few things have exceeded my expectations more than “GoodFellas.”
Now streaming on Max.
The Halloween Effect: The feeling one gets having seen or heard works inspired by an oft-referenced classic when finally seeing that classic for the first time. Like seeing every slasher movie from 1981 to the present day, and then seeing John Carpenter’s original “Halloween.” Or listening to tons of Tori Amos, and then discovering Kate Bush.
It’s a bit of “Haven’t we seen this before?” mixed with “Oh, that’s where that comes from!”
Literally, “in the middle of things” - when a story starts in the middle of the action.
Due for a rewatch!