Directed by: Rebecca Miller
| T |
hroughout Mr. Scorsese, Rebecca Miller’s fantastic five-part documentary about the life and work of legendary director Martin Scorsese, there are moments where it becomes clear that in addition to maybe being one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he might just be the greatest lover of film alive today. Early in the first episode, Steven Spielberg states that Scorsese is a “cornerstone of this entire art form,” and through this five-part docuseries, Miller shows that not only has Scorsese left an indelible mark on film itself, but Scorsese and film also have an almost symbiotic relationship, where it’s hard to imagine one without the other.
Considering how deep Miller gets into Scorsese’s life and filmography, it’s hard to believe that this project began as just a feature-length documentary. Five hour-long episodes, however, offer a richness and a stronger understanding of the man and his work that simply wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Miller begins with Scorsese’s childhood in New York, the rough streets he grew up on that would inform his work, and the beginnings of his love for film. Scorsese would watch the world outside from his bedroom (to which he attributes his love for taking high-angle shots in his films), he would see his family reflected in the Italian films that would play on TV in his neighbourhood, and he’d even draw storyboards as a child — complete with credits and specific camera directions.
In this first episode, this love for film rises right into his earliest shorts, his struggles to be able to direct anything, and the making of his first two features: the extremely personal Who’s That Knocking at My Door and the Roger Corman-produced Boxcar Bertha.
Miller chronologically, and film by film, works her way through Scorsese’s life. The ‘70s brought success and the beginnings of his work with Robert De Niro. We learn just how ravaged Scorsese was by his cocaine addiction, and how he rose out of that to make some of his best work with one of his earliest collaborators, including Raging Bull and The King of Comedy. Mr. Scorsese also follows the highs and lows of Scorsese’s work in the ‘90s, from the massive success of GoodFellas to less appreciated works like Kundun and Bringing Out the Dead. Finally, in the most recent decades of Scorsese’s career, the docuseries reveals how his collaborations with Leonardo DiCaprio have revitalised Scorsese and made him as relevant as ever, leading up to the director beginning production on his latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon.
Miller has incredible access to Scorsese, from home videos to interviews with his former loves, children, family friends, and figures like Daniel Day-Lewis, Brian De Palma, Mick Jagger, De Niro, and DiCaprio. Especially in the early episodes, Miller hits every project Scorsese worked on, almost as if each film is a piece of the director that is essential to understanding who he is. To her credit, many of these films have been thoroughly examined and discussed for decades, but she still finds nuggets to unearth, making the stories we’ve all heard before seem fresher than ever. Miller calls this project a “film portrait,” and it does feel as though she’s fleshing out the man through his decades of incredible films that are key to the person he’s become.
“What aids in making this film portrait so compelling is Martin Scorsese himself, who is an absolute delight in his interviews. Scorsese is an open book with Miller, sharing details about his dangerous childhood, his terrifying drug use, and the anxieties he still has over his films, despite being one of the greats. Scorsese is honest, playful, and reflective about his life, criticising his own work at times, but also discussing moments when he was willing to fight to make the film he wanted.”
What aids in making this film portrait so compelling is Scorsese himself, who is an absolute delight in his interviews. Scorsese is an open book with Miller, sharing details about his dangerous childhood, his terrifying drug use, and the anxieties he still has over his films, despite being one of the greats. Scorsese is honest, playful, and reflective about his life, criticising his own work at times, but also discussing moments when he was willing to fight to make the film he wanted. This is especially fascinating when it comes to his more controversial films; with Taxi Driver, he threatened to use a gun to protect his version, and with The Last Temptation of Christ, he gets to explore how he hoped it would start a dialogue, rather than become a project unfairly hated by the church.
Still, some of Mr. Scorsese’s most eye-opening interviews come from other parties, particularly his children. Each of his three daughters is interviewed, each of whom was born at a very different time in Scorsese’s life. Through these interviews, we see how he’s evolved as a man who was first too busy to focus on his family, to now making a more concerted effort to be there for his family who needs him. These interviews not only show his growth as a person, but also don’t hide the negative aspects of his life as a young, hungry filmmaker.
Miller has a tremendous lineup of interviews in Mr. Scorsese, a cavalcade of those who have worked with him and been inspired by him. It’s great to hear Spielberg and De Palma talk about their younger days, or having filmmakers like Ari Aster and Josh and Benny Safdie getting into how their favorite Scorsese films have been influential for the next generation. But it’s most exciting to hear De Niro and DiCaprio — actors hugely important and tied to Scorsese’s work — discuss their process with Scorsese. De Niro and Scorsese basically came up at the same time and grew up in the same area, and it’s wonderful to watch De Niro talk about his lifelong friend and the many eras they’ve gone through together, both good and bad. Meanwhile, DiCaprio comes along like a breath of fresh air for the last few decades of Scorsese’s career, offering the director a renewed sense of popularity, with both actor and director making some of their best work together.
While Miller certainly knows where the drama is within Scorsese’s story and plays to that, that focus also leads to some aspects of Scorsese’s work and history getting far too little attention. For example, most of these episodes cover between 5-11 years of Scorsese’s life, whereas the final instalment compresses over 20 years into one episode. Considering how those early episodes hit pretty much everything Scorsese directed in those years, the last is a bit rushed once he wins his Oscar for The Departed. Maybe strangest of all, there’s no mention at all given to the biggest surprises in his career, 2011’s Hugo, which received 11 Oscar nominations and five wins.
It’s understandable why Miller would focus on the period of Scorsese’s life that she does, but considering how meticulously Miller goes through Scorsese’s work, it would’ve been great if Mr. Scorsese had an extra episode to flesh out his later years as much as the early ones.
Despite this, Mr. Scorsese is a remarkable look at Scorsese’s work and life and how they intertwine, but also how, after decades of incredible work, Scorsese still pushes himself and film as an art form in substantial ways. Film has entirely changed because of Scorsese, and Mr. Scorsese is a fantastic encapsulation of what has made Scorsese a pillar of film history.
– Courtesy: Collider.com
Rating system: *Not on your life * ½ If you really must waste your time ** Hardly worth the bother ** ½ Okay for a slow afternoon only *** Good enough for a look see *** ½ Recommended viewing **** Don’t miss it **** ½ Almost perfect ***** Perfection