Entertainment · Film · 1 day ago
The Irishman Opens With a Grim Echo of Goodfellas
Martin Scorsese’s Netflix crime film The Irishman opens in a nursing home.
Its camera moves past residents with visitors and staff before reaching Frank Sheeran, played by Robert De Niro, sitting alone in a wheelchair.
Frank then tells the camera that he used to “paint houses,” a code for working as a mafia hitman.
The scene sets up the film’s focus on his past and the life he led.
Its quiet, lonely mood is presented as a dark callback to Scorsese’s Goodfellas, which also starred De Niro and Joe Pesci.
The opening suggests that a life in organized crime can lead to isolation and regret rather than glamour.
The Irishman opens with a slow tracking shot through a nursing home before showing an elderly Frank Sheeran alone in a wheelchair.
Frank then speaks directly to the camera and says he used to “paint houses,” a code for working as a mafia hitman.
The scene presents his later life as marked by isolation and regret, without glamour.
Screen Rant describes the opening as a grim callback to Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas.
- Who
- Frank Sheeran, played by Robert De Niro, is shown in the opening scene.
- What
- The Irishman opens with a tracking shot through a nursing home and Frank speaking about his past as a hitman.
- When
- Not stated.
- Where
- A nursing home; its location is not stated.
- Why
- The scene connects The Irishman to Goodfellas and establishes the isolation and regret associated with Frank’s life.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
paint houses
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Film
- The Irishman
- Opening location
- A nursing home
- Character
- Frank Sheeran, played by Robert De Niro
- Code phrase
- paint houses
Sources
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