Goodfellas

Directed by Martin Scorsese, Goodfellas follows Ray Liotta’s Henry Hill as he experiences a series of ups and downs after falling in with a crew of gangsters (including Robert De Niro’s James Conway and Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito). Filmmaker Scorsese, armed with his and Nicholas Pileggi’s screenplay, delivers a briskly-paced endeavor that fares best in its surprising and often engrossing opening stretch, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that Goodfellas benefits substantially from its stellar performances and often hypnotic visuals – with the latter certainly true of a justifiably iconic single-take sequence involving Henry and his girlfriend’s (Lorraine Bracco’s Karen) entry into a crowded nightclub. The recurring emphasis on standout, electrifying interludes, such as the legendary “how am I funny?” episode, goes a long way towards perpetuating the movie’s thoroughly watchable vibe, although it’s equally apparent, ultimately, that Scorsese’s single-minded, procedural-like approach does, perhaps inevitably, start to become a little exhausting somewhere around the halfway mark – with the picture’s third-act emphasis on Henry’s less-than-enthralling, drug-fueled exploits ensuring that the final half hour isn’t quite as spellbinding as one might’ve hoped. By the time the satisfying finale rolls around, however, Goodfellas has cemented its place as a solid gangster picture that probably could’ve used a few more character-based digressions (ie it’s just relentlessly mob-focused, ultimately).

*** out of ****