Martin Scorsese is “concerned” about the de-aging effects in The Irishman

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Anyone paying attention to the movie world has been hearing about Martin Scorsese’s THE IRISHMAN for years, and finally, the movie is set to hit Netflix this fall in the heart of awards season. Starring the likes of Hollywood legends Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, the movie (written by Steve Zaillian) takes place in the past and present to tell the story of mafia hitman Frank Sheeran. The post-production process has been lengthy and expensive given the cutting-edge VFX needed to de-age the stars for past sequences, and it’s a process that’s left Scorsese feeling slightly concerned.

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The Oscar-winning director was speaking with THE SOUVENIR director Joanna Hogg on the A24 podcast “A Bigger Canvas” (via IndieWire) when he hinted that the movie doesn’t take place chronologically and shifts between past and present. As a result, he expressed his concern over the technology being able to properly capture the performances in his actors as the movie cuts between time periods.

 “Why I’m concerned, we’re all concerned is that we’re so used to watching them as the older faces,” Scorsese said. “When we put them all together, it cuts back and forth….Now, it’s real. Now, I’m seeing it. Now, certain shots need more work on the eyes, need more work on why these exactly the same eyes from the plate shot, but the wrinkles and things have changed. Does it change the eyes at all? If that’s the case, what was in the eyes that I liked? Was it intensity? Was it gravitas? Was it threat?”

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The very first teaser for the movie dropped some time ago, but people were quick to notice it doesn’t feature any looks at the actors – present day or de-aged – and just features voiceovers from the cast. Being so many months out perhaps the VFX just aren’t ready to be shown yet, and Netflix is also not one to release previews for movies months before release like other studios, so it could be a bit longer before we get a solid look at what they cooked up.

Digital de-aging has taken great leaps over the years, with actors Michael Douglas and Samuel L. Jackson given the treatment in movies like ANT-MAN and CAPTAIN MARVEL, the latter for the entirety of the movie. The process gets its biggest showcase later this year with not only THE IRISHMAN, but the Ang Lee sci-fi flick GEMINI MAN, wherein Will Smith fights a younger (looking) version of himself.

Understandably, there's a lot that could go wrong with the process. How will audiences handle going back and forth between seeing TAXI DRIVER De Niro and present De Niro without getting vertigo? Only time will tell, but there are still some months left before the movie has to be ready to screen. While there may be some concern now things will probably turn out fine before it makes the rounds at festivals and such. 

THE IRISHMAN is on Netflix and in theaters later this year.