Goodfellas: Is there a better gangster movie than this?

There are a lot of articles on the internet about the best shows to watch during the lockdown. Heck, BookMyShow sends me updates everyday on the best movies and web-series. It’s getting cluttered and even your friend provides you with a list of recommendations. What do you do when you’re being bulldozed by so many recommendations? If you’re like me, you’d go and watch a timeless classic from your favorite genre and forget about the recommendations. Goodfellas is that kind of film for me!

It has the signature of a masterpiece written all over it. The “funny-how” scene helmed by Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta, and even the murder of Billy Batts was directed so well that you can watch it any number of times. It features some iconic imagery and is certainly quotable. To this day, the film is worshipped by fans and film-makers alike. It’s the holy grail of fun, energetic and stylized cinema packaged in a timeless classic. 

The story follows the life of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) who is enamored by the ‘gangsta’ life and he professes that being a gangster is better than being the President of the country! He believes gangsters aren’t restricted by anything or anyone; They have the freedom to do whatever they want and that’s what lures him to their lifestyle. When he grows up, he becomes an associate of Paulie, a major kingpin in the Lucchese crime family. As the movie progresses, he rises through the ranks and starts executing murders and heists with Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci).

Karen, Henry’s wife, is an important character in the movie. She provides a feminine view of the mob life and also has a voiceover (the only other person who has a voiceover is Ray Liotta) in the film. Her depiction in an otherwise male-dominated film is one of the best.

The single-shot scene of the Copacabana serves as a great foreshadowing to what the film would eventually turn out be. Henry and Karen (Lorraine Bracco) get front-row seats to the comedy show, they’re recognized by everyone around, there’s a lot of money being given away by Henry and everyone seems to know him. BUT they go through the back door (the best epitome of a shortcut?) and ‘avail’ the benefits of being a wiseguy (they never call themselves goons).

Another reason why Goodfellas is great is because it shows us the purest form of irony. If you look closely, Henry Hill just doesn’t fit into the frame of a gangster. When they kill Billy Batts, he doesn’t participate in the killing and pukes while burying him. We don’t see Henry Hill killing anyone in the film. He just tags along as the accomplice of Tommy and does a few hits here and there. When all hell breaks loose, he tags along with his family and rats everyone out (which is such a contrast to the scene where he didn’t give any information on the gang in the court scene when he was young). Then he proceeds to tell us that he misses the ‘gangsta’ life and he has to wait in queues like everyone else. I’ve never come across a more opportunistic character in cinema. 

No article related to Goodfellas is complete without mentioning the riot Joe Pesci was! He won a well-deserved Academy Award for the film and it was anticipated by one and all. Robert De Niro plays another critically-acclaimed character of a gangster with his cosmic screen presence. What The Godfather was for the aristocratic, super-rich gangsters, Goodfellas is for the small-time gangsters (and people who’d like to believe they’re gangsters). 

I believe Martin Scorsese doesn’t direct movies like Goodfellas, Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman to immortalize the proverb – The one who lives by the sword, dies by it. Instead, he wants to depict the aspirations of an average man who wants to be one of them (and not get caught by the law, duh). Who does not want to have the freedom to do whatever they want? Everyone and that’s exactly what Martin Scorsese’s film conveyed. These films also have a reality check towards the end. It seems metaphorical and feels as if Scorsese’s telling us – The film is over, fellas. Get back to reality.

It’s fitting to end this piece with a timeless dialogue by Robert De Niro:

“Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.”