This is a really great miniseries, and I’m so grateful it exists. Scorsese is among my favourite filmmakers, and his take on America has always struck me as interesting and astute. This is a great trip through most of his oeuvre. I’m delighted with what’s here. I soaked up every minute and truly did enjoy it all.
It’s a pity it’s not twice as long and twice as honest. We get close to Marty, but it’s clear he views some of his life as too colourful for documentation. That’s a shame. It’s not like we don’t know some of the more sordid details, and for those of us who don’t, it would hardly be surprising to learn that an isolated genius struggles with drugs, love, and fatherhood.
When his daughters talk about their most cherished memories with their father, it’s heartbreaking. You realize that this man is not so unlike the characters he portrays so well — filled with self-loathing and a small measure of contempt for those closest to him, but with boundless love for his work and those in that world.
By the time it’s over, I felt like I was seeing a real world portrayal of Raging Bull or The Irishman, but the documentary went out of its way to avoid making that connection itself. As an official documentary, it’s got a veneer over it that doesn’t match the grit or texture of its subject matter.
Entire chapters of his life are blown over in ten minutes or less, including his hospitalization. His friendship with De Niro, and all their ups and downs, is hinted at but never stated. Both men remain tight-lipped.
So this is fascinating, and it made me want to rewatch all his movies. But I needed more. Marty’s films often dig deep into the psyche of the dark underbelly of America, and just as often dig deep into the religious grandeur of American faith too. I feel like we saw a lot of the latter, but I don’t know that this documentary was able to commit to Marty’s underbelly, as it should.
An additional five episodes — I’m not kidding! — would allow a closer look at Marty’s sin and redemption cycle, making it even easier to sympathize with our favourite director.