New York, New York

I swear, Mr. Scorsese really loves to play with my expectations. This film looked like it was going to go one way, and then, by the end, it went a completely different way. Surprisingly, I was impressed by this and how it went about telling the story.

The story is about an aspiring saxophone player named Jimmy Doyle, portrayed by Robert De Niro and an aspiring singer named Francine Evans, played by Liza Minnelli, who end up falling in love and perform together. But as time goes on, things start to change between them, and their relationship also changes considerably, especially by the end. I have to say that the way it ended was fantastic, and the Happy Endings portion of the film was really well done, I felt, and quite symbolic of how Jimmy and Francine's relationship played out.

The performances were amazing with Robert De Niro turning in a great performance and really showing the various sides of his character, and you can see the motivations in just how he moves or looks around. It's only right this man is one of the most respected actors of our time. The way Liza Minnelli portrays her character is similarly very multifaceted, and I feel the film really is from her perspective for the most part, and seeing how everything goes down with her character is amazing to watch. I'd say my favorite scene, outside of the ending and the Happy Endings portion, was where they are in the car and arguing about where their lives are going to go. It shows the motivations of both De Niro and Minnelli in that point and it's great acting for both of them.

This was absolutely amazing, especially because of the way Scorsese subverts expectations, something I hope he will continue to do with his other films I plan on watching. This is a great drama and how it ends is quite a surprise from how it starts out. I highly recommend it if you want to see an interesting character study and how career and love can play into a relationship.

Next time, we go to my most highly anticipated film of this watchthrough, a film that inspired Joker, one of my favorite comic book films of all time. Get ready, next time, for The King of Comedy.

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