Movie Rating

    In this analysis and rating I look at the Martin Scorsese film, "Goodfellas." This film is considered a classic by many and is one of the most well known works from Scorsese. I personally picked this film due to it being one I have watched many times. There are many aspect of the film to enjoy such as the characters, camerawork, and even the soundtrack of the movie. 

    Referring to the category of whether the story hold the audience's attention I give Goodfellas a 15. The movie is told through the narration of the protagonist. The first half of the movie in my opinion does an excellent job at showing the story of the protagonist and keeps the audience's attention well through the story and camerawork. If it were to end at that point I would give it a 20. Though after the protagonist gets out of prison I feel the film rushes too much, though this might just be the style that Scorsese follows. I have this similar feeling in both Casino, and The Irishman, both mafia movies directed by Scorsese. 

    The camerawork within Goodfellas gets 20 points from me. The camerawork is extremely well done with scenes like the protagonist and his partner walking through the restaurant being a famous scene and a staple of the dolly shot. The editing is really well done as well, giving a feeling of someone telling a story. This accompanies the narration really well. 

    This leads to the dialogue, narration, and music part of the rating, for this I give Goodfellas 20 points. The dialogue is engaging and is carried tremendously by the actors. The narration from Ray Liotta is extremely well done, his cold recounting of his life events gives an insight into the protagonist's mind. The background music also helps set the mood throughout the movie, giving the ideas of grandeur and high expense that Henry Hill, the protagonist, was sold on as a child. This all comes together in the famous opening scene of the movie, "As far back as I remember I wanted to be a gangster," narration and then Rags to Riches by Tony Bennet kicking in for the title cards. 

    One of the greatest aspects of this movie are the actors within it, it's for this reason I give 20 points for it. Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Lorraine Bracco all give phenomenal performances for their respective characters. In my opinion the best performance is given by Lorraine Bracco as Karen Hill, the wife of the protagonist. There are multiple instances where the anger her character has perfectly portrayed by her. Joe Pesci also does really well with his "tough guy" persona within this movie, this is seen in the opening scene as well when the three main characters pull over to the side of the road to check the man in their trunk. Joe Pesci gives a well executed raw reaction towards this. 

    Overall out of a possible 80 points, Goodfellas gets 75 points. Although it does drag the slightest bit towards the end of the film there is no denying the cinematography, dialogue and the performances given are simply amazing.