REVIEW: GOODFELLAS [1990]

REVIEW# 14
MOVIE: GOODFELLAS [1990]
Genre: Thriller/Drama/Gangster movie
Cast: Robert De Niro,Ray Liotta,Joe Pesci,Lorriane Bracco
Director: The great Martin Scorsese
IMDb rating : 8.7/10
Deeps rating:  9/10
Verdict: A must watch.One the best gangster movies ever made.

                               "HARD TIMES WILL REVEAL YOUR BEST FRIENDS"
    Your life changes with every breath.Its like a snake and ladder game.With one toss,you climb up the ladder and reaches the top;but you remain there only until the next toss.Very few survive the last snake.Your destiny is not in your hands.The dice rolls on its own;the only favor we get in life is the power to roll it.Then its fate that determines your destiny.After watching Goodfellas I am confused.Is it fate or our deeds that decide our destiny.We can't blame fate for our own deeds.Whatever you earn,how much hard you work,whoever you love,how much you pay;nothing remains with you for ever.You can only embrace them for sometime before it falls into the hands of others.Nothing remains constant in life.
   
    Everyday in your life is to be earned and so every moment you earn is to be cherished and everything in your kitty is to be enjoyed.We don't know when and where you will lose your precious belonging to someone else.It takes a while to become somebody from nobody but it only takes a second to become nobody from somebody.

              Goodfellas is a movie about  the rise and fall  of Henry Hill [Ray Liotta] narrated over a period of almost thirty years.Henry from his childhood always wanted to be a gangster.Attracted towards the glory,power and money involved in this field Henry decides to skip school and work for Paul Cicero [Paul Scorvino] and his associates.Through his hard work and loyalty he impresses all in the business especially James Conway called the' Jimmy' [Robert De Niro] and Tommy DeVito [Joe Pesci] ,who leads the underworld business during the mid 1950's.As time goes by Henry becomes a prime member of the group and a abiding associate of Jimmy and Tommy.Jimmy seems to be a level headed guy who goes about  his job immaculately but Tommy is more or less a social psycho who never hesitates to use his gun whenever provoked.
           The movie also narrates Henry's love life and his marriage to Karen[Lorraine Braco],.Everything looks fine as they all meet,party ,enjoy and make lots of money.Their life style looks lavish and everything with them is just not simple.The bond between Jimmy,Tommy and Henry was so strong that their families spend lots of time together.But matters goes wrong when the paranormal Tommy attacks and kills a member of Gambino crime family of Billy Bates,for insulting him and reminding him of his childhood.
          Money earned by smuggling and killing won't last long and friendship among people who doesn't hesitate to take someones life for cheap,will not remain the same for ever..Henry gets to understand it slowly but it becomes too late for him to step back.This world is like a trap  where once you  put your feet in ,then you can't escape.They plan the biggest heist of their life to rob Lufthansa for a huge amount of $6 million.They put together an efficient team under Jimmy and gets the job done perfectly.But Jimmy shows up his true color when he gets hold of the money and slowly starts to finish off his team one by one.
       Despite warnings from his best friend and mentor Pauly,Henry starts to smuggle drugs and everything gets out of control.Finally the day of reckoning happens when Henry discovers that he is being followed by police and his desperate run to save himself and his family begins.Even your best friends leave you at your time of crisis which Henry soon discovers.After his arrest he becomes the first target for all including Jimmy. Henry has only two options in front of him .Either go to prison or to be a rat.But both seems vulnerable.Will he chose his family over his dangerous friends?????

            The Legend of Martin Scorsese depicts the gangster life of Henry and his friends in a very methodical manner..His precision in every scene makes the movie looks natural.The work,the families,the love life ,the murders,the agony and the mystery of gangster world is explained  in a very cursive manner which makes this movie an all time classic.Robert De Niro as usual steals the show with his emotions and high spirits.It puzzles me of how he changes from Jimmy 'the friend' to Jimmy 'the felon' so dexterously Beyond a shadow of doubt he is a miracle which happens once a while.Joe Pesci,who is a permanent member of Martin's team to play the spoil boy fits into his usual, perfectly.He is born to play the paranormal guy in gangster movies.Ray Liotta is the surprise packet who did well to match the legends.Lorraine Braco deserved the Oscar's for her depiction of the most complex role in the movie that of Henry wife.
              
       Is there anyone who hasn't watched this movie?It's a must watch.It entertains you as well as teaches you about life and fate.There are quite a few lessons in life that you got to learn watching others.You may not find them in your neighborhood but movies like this will certainly give you a glimpse.I can write a full page showering praises for this classic.Go for it today itself.

       I am Deepak Unnikrishnan and I will be back with another Hollywood classic tomorrow.

TIP OF THE DAY: YOUR DOWNFALL IS YOUR PREPARATION FOR YOUR UP-RISE.