The final scene of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman has left viewers heartbroken.
The mobster epic, which marks the veteran director’s first foray into streaming, stars Robert De Niro as Frank Sheeran, the Irishman of the title.
The film, which is based on the 2004 book I Heard You Paint Houses, explores how Sheeran became involved with the Mafia, eventually ended up as a hitman.
Starting out as a truck driver, he becomes close to gangster Russell Bufalino (played by Joe Pesci) and eventually takes on Mafia jobs - including killing the mob’s enemies.
He eventually catches the eye of fellow gangster Jimmy Hoffa (played by Al Pacino) - but their friendship is far from simple. Hoffa’s egotistical ways do not go down well with the other mobsters, and he eventually meets a bloody fate.
Sheeran and his cohorts are arrested for many of their considerable crimes, but never for Hoffa’s murder.
The film shows us how Sheeran’s actions alienated him from his family, with his daughter (played by Anna Paquin) never forgiving him for his involvement in the death of her ‘Uncle’ Hoffa.
The final scenes of the film take place in the present day, with an elderly Frank alone on Christmas Day, praying with a priest.
He then asks the priest to leave the door open, despite knowing that no one is looking out for him behind that door.
This poignantly harks back to a previous scene, which saw Hoffa ask Sheeran to do the same when he would act as his bodyguard.
The ending has left fans deeply moved, with many sharing their thoughts on Twitter.
Some social media users were heartbroken by Sheeran’s loneliness at the end of his life, with many pointing out that it’s unusual for a mafia movie to pack such an emotional punch.
Others claimed that the finale’s ambiguity left them “disappointed” or suggested that their enjoyment was hampered by The Irishman’s mammoth run time of three hours and 30 minutes.
The film, which uses CGI technology to digitally de-age De Niro and Pacino to allow them to portray their characters’ younger years, has already generated significant buzz ahead of awards season.
The Irishman is streaming on Netflix now.
