Anytime you make a movie (or any piece of art), you open yourself up to criticisms of said art. That’s especially true of historical dramas and films based on actual events. Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman opens itself up to additional criticisms, as the filmmaker’s long-developing drama is told from the perspective of one person in particular: former union official and mob hitman Frank Sheeran, played by Robert De Niro. Scorsese’s film is based on I Heard You Paint Houses, Charles Brandt’s non-fiction book in which Sheeran—on his death bed—recounted his life to the author, including details of the hits he allegedly carried out for the Bufalino crime family. Sheeran also claims to know exactly what happened to Jimmy Hoffa, the notorious Teamster leader who disappeared in 1975. As Sheeran tells it, he killed his longtime friend and associate in a house in Detroit.
Sheeran’s claims have often been disputed, most recently by noted Hoffa investigator Dan Moldea, who told The Daily Beast that he confronted Robert De Niro at an event in Washington, D.C. Moldea says he told the actor he shouldn’t star in The Irishman because it wasn’t factually accurate. Speaking with IndieWire, De Niro responded to Moldea’s criticisms of the film and shared Scorsese’s perspective on the historical accuracies (or inaccuracies) of Sheeran’s story: