Goodfellas: Yep, It's That Good

One might say that the very nature of life in the mob lends itself to cinematic adaptation, and perhaps this is why the best of such stories become legendary - you don't need to look as hard at your inspiration to find the story because it's really already there. One's initiation into the mob could be seen as the inciting incident, and their rise through the ranks seems to make for a worthy building action. Their inevitable personal and professional problems lend themselves to a great imbalance, while how they react to those problems has made for many an excellent resolution. I've observed such a trend in the legendary The Godfather, in the lesser-known but still remarkable The Irishman, and now I see it once again in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, a cinematic tour de force that more than lives up to its glowing reputation. Based on the true story of Henry Hill's life in the Brooklyn Mafia and his troubles with his wife Karen, the film is basically a stylish point-for-point biography of the highs, lows, triumphs, and defeats of Henry's life, nothing more and most certainly nothing less. It's also one of the best movies I've seen thus far in my run as a critic.

The scale and ambition of Goodfellas is monumental, yet remarkably grounded. The movie is just as much about who Henry is as it is what he does, reminiscent in numerous ways of The Irishman, a newer Scorsese film that I nevertheless chose to watch before this one. Just like The Irishman, Goodfellas doesn't lose its heart amidst its sprawling scale, planting its narrative roots firmly among Henry, Karen, and their growing family, yet the most notable difference between the two films would have to be that Goodfellas is the much more fun and significantly less serious of the two. It's a faster, louder, more upbeat affair, and its dialogue has a punchy and attractive wit to boot. It flows extremely naturally, and apparently, Scorsese let Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, and Robert De Niro improvise a lot of it. When the three of them are on screen together, you will believe in the magnetic magic of cinema.

Throughout the film, both Henry and Karen narrate the story, and this spoken-word narrative works exceptionally well. I didn't feel like I was watching a movie so much as listening to a story being told, and the informal nature of many of these narrations works remarkably well. The intensity with which Goodfellas delivers its highs and lows can be shocking, and the naturalism with which it portrays the tumult of Henry and Karen's marriage is slick and uncomfortable. It's like home life is Henry's prison, and his crime life is his escape, and when it's not driving wedges between its characters, Goodfellas takes advantage of something other gangster films don't have - a wild and free sense of excitement. It might lack the maturity of some of its genre-mates, but I can't lie and say it isn't a lot more fun. And it's more than just fun - I never felt as if anything was missing in this movie. It's just long enough, not a minute too long, and certainly not a minute too short. One cannot say that Scorsese doesn't know how to indulge without tedium.

Goodfellas is phenomenal. It's a big-shot gangster flick with a flair for the dramatic and an eye for the exciting that nevertheless knows when to exercise restraint and zoom in on the inner workings of its cast of characters. It's not a movie big on moral statements or preachy sentimentality. And so, while my personal tastes do miss the maturity of The Irishman, I understand that the two movies are different, and I respect Goodfellas for trusting its craftsmanship to carry it, which it more than does. It performs the difficult high-wire act of both acting big without losing the intimacy in the shuffle and also zooming in close on Henry, Karen, and their struggle to keep their marriage intact as Henry's life in the mafia takes its toll on their relationship. Moreover, it also works as a rowdy crowd-pleaser, something I haven't seen any other legendary gangster film accomplish, as much as I love the genre. It's hard for me to call the life of a mobster attractive. Goodfellas proves that it can be just as hard not to.

Goodfellas - 10/10

Ecclesiastes 9:7-10