The Irishman Review: 10 Ups & 1 Down

5. The Hilarious, Witty Script

Despite its more melancholic tone than some may be expecting, The Irishman is also one of the year's funniest films, thanks to a firecracker script from Steven Zaillian filled with deliciously barbed squabbling between the various central figures.

A mid-film sequence where Hoffa chastises mobster Anthony Provenzano (Stephen Graham) for showing up late for their meeting is probably one of the most stingingly hilarious scenes from Scorsese's late-period filmography.

It's tough to imagine a world where Zallian doesn't win the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, which so expertly balance its tones and gives the cast so much beautifully insightful, human and hysterical dialogue to work with.