With a running time of three-and-a-half hours, “The Irishman” — which comes out the Wednesday before Thanksgiving — requires a lot of focus and dedicated sitting. That’s not so easy when your stomach is full of turkey and holiday spirits.
For those of you who don’t think you can get through 209 minutes in a single sitting, we at TheWrap have calculated the perfect time for you to take a break. Very mild spoilers are ahead, so proceed with caution.
Just before the film’s two-hour mark, Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) takes a meeting with Tony Provenzano (Stephen Graham) at an empty club in Florida. Hoffa is unimpressed with Tony Pro’s casual attire, and even less impressed with his tardiness.
“I never waited for anyone who was late more than 10 minutes in my life,” Hoffa says, raising a finger menacingly.
“I’d say 15, 15 is right,” Provenzano replies.
“No, ten,” Hoffa corrects.
“I don’t think so, ten is not enough. You have to take traffic into account,” Provenzano explains.
“That’s what I’m doing. I’m taking traffic into account. That’s why it’s 10,” Hoffa corrects, once again.
As their exchange escalates, De Niro’s Frank Sheeran — the titular Irishman — tries to diffuse the situation.
“How about twelve and a half minutes?” Sheeran offers as a compromise.
Things escalate even further, and the end of this scene is a great place to take a break. That still leaves viewers a good 90 minutes left in the film for their next viewing.
“The Irishman” is an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century.
Spanning decades, the film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino), and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries and connections to mainstream politics.
The film was released theatrically on Nov. 1, but audiences had to sit through the entire film without the luxury of hitting “pause” on Netflix.
“The Irishman” premieres on Netflix Nov. 27, 2020.