Goodfellas (1990) Review

Goodfellas (1990)

Goodfellas follows Henry Hill, a mobster who has it all, oblivious to the everyday horrors it wreaks. But when a drug addiction and a few bad mistakes lands him in hot water, it may unravel everything he, and the mob, has built. 

It’s amazing that, in a filmography that includes the likes of Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, Raging Bull, and so much more, that Goodfellas would be the film that ultimately may be the best of them all, if not just Martin Scorsese at his all time best. Based primarily on the true story, and book by Nicholas Pileggi, as well as Scorsese’s real life experiences growing up, Goodfellas makes you really understand and feel what makes the American mafia so compelling. In the eyes of a kid, who was unfortunate enough to grow up in a tough neighborhood, those gangsters are rock stars. Live fast, die young—but when you die, it ain't gonna be of a glamorous suicide or drug overdose—the ending will be brutal, ugly, and most likely sad. And it may just be one of your best friends that does the job. 

That’s no better encapsulated than here, where we chart the life of Henry Hill, from that unfortunate youth, to a gangster to be loved and feared, dedicating his life to something bigger than himself that will no doubt make him larger than life. He isn’t just some unwilling criminal—he loved it, to the very end. The drugs, the woman, the fame, the money, the family, this is the life he always wanted, and Scorsese details that brilliantly, placing an emphasis on atmosphere, dialogue, and pacing, so as to always let Henry’s story tell itself, never getting bogged down with the minutia of things; just flowing naturally, which is why you’re perpetually drawn into this world, it’s lifestyle, and it’s beauty.

We get such a phenomenal cast too, starring Tony Sirico, Gina Mastrogiacomo, Debi Mazer, Frank Vincent, Michael Imperioli, Chuck Low, Paul Sorvino, Lorraine Bracco, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, and Ray Liotta. It’s truly something, in a movie filled with some of the best performances imaginable from De Niro and Pesci, just how well Liotta holds his own and wins us over. You truly believe he’s that guy, whether he’s killing or romancing or running jobs for the mob; everyone wants a part of him and it’s easy to see why. 

Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese, is one of those once in a lifetime films that doesn’t just try to emulate the mob and it’s characters, it lives it, creating an instant classic that grips you from to start to finish and unleashes the good with the bad, all while still leaving you longing for the life of a gangster.

 

9.7/10

Rest in peace Ray Liotta