Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1188730
68 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E "Marty plans everything," Schoomaker says. "He thinks like an editor on the set." P H O T O : N E T F L I X come to see if they watch it over and over, the way they did with "Goodfellas," they will see the interesting thing about the script is the DeNiro character is unaware the [mob] bosses have decided about the fate of Jimmy Hoffa. The first is an emotional journey that goes into the recesses of a man's mind, the second a physical one that allows you to move backwards or sideways in time, and sometimes the points converge. The whole trip is laying the ground- work for what is going to happen but DeNiro is unaware of it. As people get to know the film better, as they see it again and again … That's why it was very im- portant for Marty to have that structure. The way he is being played by both sides is fascinating. The fact they put Jimmy Hoffa's son [Jesse Plemons] to drive the car and Frank in the backseat. There is this awful moment when Bob nods his head to get in. Jimmy decides to get in the car, and that is the kiss of death. The cinematographer, Rodrigo Prieto, said Martin Scorsese showed him some films by French director Jean-Pierre Melville before the start of production. Were there films you looked at for inspiration? Previously on other movies, Marty has shown me and the crew movies that are major influences. For instance, on "The Gangs of New York" (2002), he showed us [Russian director Sergei] Eisenstein, and we cut the opening battle sequence in the snow based on that influence. He often shows me movies that he wants me to be aware of, or that inspired him. The emotional rhythms of this film compared to the earlier films feels much different. You have confrontations or scenes where actions escalate, but what stands out so much about the film are the quiet moments, with the eerie silences that capture mood and behavior. The quiet is very important through- out the movie. For example, the way Joe Pesci plays his part. Bosses don't yell and scream. Maybe there are a few crazy ones who do, but they are so powerful they could just kill you. They are quiet, they are opaque. The language is never direct: They never say: "You have to kill someone." They say, "It is what it is." The whole quiet of the film is a very important thing that Marty wanted and is very different from something like "Goodfellas." Scorsese's films are filled with allu- sions and references. "Shutter Island" (2010) has a famous one to your late husband, Michael Powell, and his film, "The Red Shoes" (1948). The opening of the new film echoes the start of Sam Fuller's "Shock Corridor" (1963). Is that serendipitous or planned out? Marty plans everything very much. He plans an idea for the editing. He doesn't plan every edit. He thinks like an editor on the set all the time. What is this coming to? That is wonderful for me. That is 50 percent of my work in some ways. That opening shot was always in Marty's mind from the beginning. He wanted to slow people down and get them to understand this is not going to be a crash bang opening. That is not the way the movie is going to be and seduce them into a different pace. I kept saying, "Do