Scorsese/De Niro is one of the those legendary director-actor duos. After 1995’s “Casino,” they didn’t make a film together for the next 24 years, that is until 2019’s “The Irishman.”
Scorsese’s longtime editor, the legendary Thelma Schoonmaker, has witnessed, first-hand, the wonderful De Niro performances: “Raging Bull,” “The King of Comedy,” “Goodfellas,” “Cape Fear,” “Casino.”
However, in an upcoming interview, Schoonmaker says that De Niro’s work in “Killers of the Flower Moon” is his “greatest performance.” Quite the bold statement.
Well, is it? Of course not. It is however maybe De Niro’s best work of the 21st Century. I can’t think of the last time he was this powerful on-screen, it even surpasses his subtly brilliant work in “The Irishman.”
De Niro’s performance as the morally corrupt William Hale is dark, infuriating and, yes, even comedic. The way he manages to portray such a despicable character in such humane fashion is more than enough to justify the raves he’s going to be getting for this performance.
As mentioned, when compared to his incredible work in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, De Niro’s 21st Century output has been rather disappointing, I could only come up five :
(1) Killers of the Flower Moon (2) The Irishman (3) Meet the Parents (4) Silver Linings Playbook (5) The Intern.
Am I missing anything else?