Review-- "Goodfellas"

"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."

Leave it to Scorsese to start off a crime epic on a child's dream. Among the uncountable things that make Goodfellas (in my opinion) the finest film of the 90s (and possibly ever), it's a man's journey into his dream, a man getting everything he ever wanted, and what he does with it when he gets it. It's nothing new to film, but Scorsese pulls out all the stops to ensure that Goodfellas leaves an indelible impression on every viewer. It's been about 24 hours since I watched it, but I just can't get it out of my head. The voiceovers, the music, the still images, the long camera shots-- Scorsese is a technical master, but it's never showy. If anything, the camera magic is overshadowed by the fiery dialogue, or the narration that could have taken a serious misstep in so many places, but only ever adds to the turbulence of the film's main relationship, or the actors bringing something that only Scorsese seems to provide.

My thoughts on Goodfellas feel like the cocaine-aided bender at the end of the film. Sure, it's easy to say that it's a synecdote of America, the greatest crime film ever made, or any other classification. It's a thousand things at once, but it never feels forced. I was reminded of a quote from Game of Thrones: "Any man who must say 'I am the king' is no true king." Any film that has to remind its audience that its important is going to suffer. Goodfellas, in all its different themes and segments, never has to tell us that it's a great film. It tells its story and that's it.

That's not to say it isn't bold (any film that has a character break the fourth wall isn't playing it safe). There are so many techniques (I've already listed several) that could have broken the film through gimmick, but they all enhance the story, make it more real as they stop to meditate. I couldn't help but thinking about Pulp Fiction (one of the few films that rivals Goodfellas for me) and how its visual flourishes made the film, for the lack of a better word, cool. The square Uma Thurman draws with her finger, Bruce Willis with a machete, it's all stylized for the sake of style. It adds to the film, of course, but Tarantino is trying to make the film iconic (and he wildly, wildly succeeds). While it seems like this contradicts what I said earlier about films trying to seem great, Tarantino pulls it off through bombast and self-parody. Goodfellas is an intensified reality, while Pulp Fiction is an absurdist one. 

That may be the strongest part of Goodfellas: it feels real. I'm reminded of the scene in the Copacabana where Henry is given everything on a silver platter, and Karen asks "what do you do?" It seems illogical that a 21 year old could achieve that level of clout. Karen hasn't entered that world yet, but we have, and her outsider perspective as a Jewish girl shows how strange the gangster life is. Goodfellas constantly challenges us by showing how relateable and empathetic these characters can be and then contrasting that by showing the vicious  thing that they do. Anger, guilt, and lust all backdropped by mafia hits and theft create a savage America that somehow is real. The morality and guilt at the core of Henry Hill remind me of Breaking Bad, as a character dives deep into the rabbit hole of crime and looses his humanity. Without giving away the ending, its impact surprised me. It wasn't what I thought would happen, but it perfectly bookends the Henry's ambitions, rise, and fall. It walks the two sides of morality with acumen that's rarely seen. 

I'm failing to find more words, more that can be said about this movie. I've never been so impressed in so many different ways. I haven't touched on any of the characters besides Henry and Karen, or the 30 year narrative that encapsulates the mafia life. I haven't talked about the improvised dialogue that adds so much flavor. Simply, it's a brutal, intense picture of America that will shake you. It won't leave you alone, and it shouldn't. 

Final Grade: A+