Goodfellas Review

 

        This one is now an absolute classic. What hasn’t been said about Goodfellas? Well, for one thing, I think it’s everybody’s favorite Martin Scorsese movie. Without them knowing that Scorsese directed the film. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s based on a book by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the movie with Scorsese. Anyways, here’s what I think. 

1. Henry Hill

        When I first picked this movie to do for July, I never would’ve thought that the main star would pass away. Seeing the movie after the fact, Liotta does a great job narrating Hill’s life. We see his beginnings where he’s fascinated with the mob. From there, we see an evolution where he morphs into someone who can be easily deplorable. 

        The way he’s narrating feels like he’s reminiscing on his life after the fact. It gives the audience his way of thinking when being associated with other mobsters. For one thing, it’s used to decode what the modus operandi of the mob, or how they handle a person who’s become to much of a nuisance. 

        I just like that its one of those stories that it starts as a rag to riches and then transition to a fall from grace. I’ll elaborate more on that when I talk about the mob in the next tab. With seeing Henry becoming a mobster, he looks so out of place. Like, he’s probably the only normal guy when the others eat dinner or play cards. 

        If there’s one scene to really punctuate that is the scene that probably got Joe Pesci an Academy Award. After Tommy tells a hilarious story, Henry tells him that he’s funny. From there, it’s nothing but tension and high anxiety. Tommy looks like he’s about to kill Hill, and you have Henry just trying to say the obvious. The one line that is often overlooked is that Tommy says that “Henry might fold under questioning.”. 

        Not only do we get him narrating, we also hear his wife Karen. She doesn’t narrate as much as Henry, but both really communicate to us this important thing. They’re out of their league. Her moment is when she’s at a party with the mobster’s wives. Karen is the only one that isn’t covered in full makeup or gossiping. And she can see through the wives façade. 

2. The Mob

        This is thing that always interested me in these types of movies. I’ve also wondered why the mob is sometimes glamorized in movies and tv shows. To me, I think that it’s wanting to be a part of a family that knows people. Or having that freedom to do whatever what they want, since the authorities are paid to look the other way. 

        The only movie to really popularized the mob is The Godfather. While I haven’t seen trilogy, imagine that, a movie guy not seeing The Godfather trilogy. What I can say is that the family drama within the movies is the main draw. Someday I’ll watch and immediately give it my own two cents of what I think about them. 

        Anyways, the mob in Goodfellas is portrayed as duplicitous. I say that because we see in the lens of Henry’s younger years that he thinks that what they’re doing is good since he’s making money than just staying in school. Later on, they’re own actions is what inevitably lead to Hill’s fall from grace. If there’s another thing I noticed is that there’s two types mobsters in the main leads life.

        You have Paulie and the duo Jimmy and Tommy. The former is from what I could gather a more behind the scenes person who doesn’t get his hands dirty. While the duo, well they get more action but at a detriment. I feel it was important to see the two sides of the mob because it plays an important role with who Henry is. He tried to be part of the mobsters group, but ultimately gets entangled. So much so, that he must lose everything to save himself. 

        One last thing I want to bring up is that what makes them scary is that they'll sever any connections. I mean, nobody could've expected that one of the main stars would get whacked. His death just came out of nowhere. This movie doesn't shy away by showing them who they really are. Any other movie would be completely biased and show a romanticized version of the mob. Here, it's a double edged sword where you can be an ally or someone who needs to be removed. 

3. Overall

        This is one of my favorite films of Scorsese, only he can be that talented with portraying the mob in his own lens. Goodfellas is a classic of the early 90s.