I absolutely loved this movie and I’m really glad we got to watch it in this class! Even though I did my oral report last week on the professional life of director Martin Scorsese, this was actually one of his films that I had never seen. I was really impressed by many different aspects of this film, so I think I’ll just jump right into it.
First, I loved the character Ray Liotta played of Henry Hill. I thought it was great how it showed his progression in the mob and how his status within the mob continued to grow. I also really liked how it followed his character’s life from a very young age and showed just how young he was when he got involved with the mob. Hill seemed to love his life, and expressed his feelings to the audience about them as though they were his true family. I must admit, this mob did seem to act like family because they spent holidays and birthdays together, were at each others' weddings, helped with issues outside of their jobs, and did other things that families do for each other. The only thing that struck me as something family probably wouldn’t do was all the brutal violence that the mob enforced on outsiders or people that caused problems for their mob family members.
As brutal as it seemed, I felt as though the violence was necessary in order to tell this story because it made it seem much more realistic. At times, I even forgot that I was watching a movie because it seemed so real and I felt like I was right there. I believe the camera angles really helped with this feeling of being right there. For example, when Henry takes Karen on one of their first dates alone the camera follows the couple as they walk through the kitchen and get their own private table at a restaurant. The camera is so close to the couple that you can see Henry paying the waiters and doormen to let them in and basically give them whatever they want. The most interesting part about this whole process, along with getting the feeling that you are a part of the mob, is that the members of the mob are treated like celebrities all over New York because everyone knows who they are and what they are capable of. Many people go along with whatever the mob says because they know that they could get killed if they cross the wrong person, so it seems as though they have gained their respect out of other people’s fear of them. It was odd to see this side of the mob because it was not glamorized in any way, which is what we have seen in other movies such as Bonnie and Clyde. Although both fall under the “gangster/mob” movie genre, Bonnie and Clyde is much more funny and light-hearted. Those two are celebrities but the movie only shows the fun side of being a criminal. Goodfellas shows the more gruesome side of the mob and how, even though they may be celebrities, they still have to deal with unpleasant things like murder.
Overall I found this movie to be really entertaining and interesting to watch because of the characters, camera angles, and even the violence. Martin Scorsese really did a great job in showing a different side of the mob, and wasn’t afraid to show brutal violence in order to get his point across about the New York mob. He succeeded in realistic demonstrating how powerful the mob can be, and how dangerous a life they lead every day.
