A career-changer.
After making two largely forgettable films in a five-year span, Martin Scorsese suddenly locked-in big time with feature #3, launching himself and stars Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel into the national conversation.
The tale they’re telling is a familiar one — two lifelong friends, one trying to live life by a certain code, the other one bouncing off the walls, a word or action away from fatally irritating the wrong person.
Since the duo hang out in dangerous circles, mingling with made men, De Niro’s abrasiveness is no small matter.
This one hums with life and vitality.