Top 10 Things The Irishman Got Factually Right and Wrong

#10: “I Heard You Paint Houses”

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Right In “The Irishman,” Jimmy Hoffa introduces himself to Frank Sheeran over the phone, saying, “I heard you paint houses.” This quote provided the title for Charles Brant’s 2004 nonfiction novel, the movie’s source material. The book jacket reads, “‘I heard you paint houses’ are the first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank ‘the Irishman’ Sheeran. To paint a house is to kill a man. The paint is the blood that splatters on the walls and floors.” Some have challenged the authenticity of this quote, arguing that they couldn’t find it anywhere outside of Brant’s book. Brant claims, however, that mobsters from northeastern Pennsylvania “have their own lingo.” In any case, Sheeran did form a close friendship with Hoffa through his mentor, mobster Russell Bufalino.

Wrong Charles Brandt is perhaps the most notable figure missing from “The Irishman.” As seen in the film, Sheeran faced racketeering charges and was sentenced to prison for 18 years. His sentence later got extended to 32 years on another charge, although Sheeran was ultimately released after 13 years. Brant, a medical malpractice lawyer, played a major role in securing Sheeran’s early parole due to his health. Once he was a free man, Sheeran supposedly told Brant his life story, which he chronicled in “I Heard You Paint Houses.” Yet, Brandt is nowhere to be found in “The Irishman.” Sheeran is seen confessing his sins to someone throughout the movie. It’s possible that this unseen individual is intended to be Brandt, although it’s never made clear.

Right The film sees Sheeran beat a shop owner to a pulp after he yells at his daughter, Peggy. This is true to an actual confrontation according to Sheeran’s other daughter, Dolores Miller, who said, “My sister once knocked something over in a store and was bawled at by the owner. My father went round and broke the owner’s hands.” It’s also true that Peggy cut off communication with her father after Hoffa went missing. “I was very close to Peggy, but she doesn’t talk to me any more, not since Jimmy disappeared,” Sheeran told Brant. It’s debatable whether Peggy believed that her father was responsible for killing Hoffa. Whatever she thought, their relationship virtually ended in 1975 according to Sheeran.

Right Not long after befriending Russell Bufalino in the film, Sheeran tells him that he was part of the 45th Infantry Division during World War II, which is true. Throughout his unusually lengthy 411 days in combat, Sheeran participated in the Salerno landings, the Anzio Campaign, and the invasion of Sicily. In “I Heard You Paint Houses,” Sheeran recalled that “an officer would tell you to take a couple of German prisoners back behind the line and for you to ‘hurry back.’” This is briefly touched upon in a flashback when Sheeran forces two enemy soldiers to dig their own graves. Sheeran claims that his career as a hitman is rooted in his four years of combat duty, having participated in various massacres, executions, and war crimes.

Right “The Irishman” makes it no secret that Hoffa wasn’t a fan of the Kennedy family. When John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States, he named his brother Robert Kennedy Attorney General and the quote unquote "Get Hoffa" squad surged into action. Hoffa would ultimately be convicted for attempted bribery, but not before JFK was assassinated in 1963. In the film, Hoffa hears about the shooting in a diner, but returns to his ice cream sundae shortly after. In real life, Hoffa was supposedly in a restaurant when the news broke, prompting him to stand on a chair and cheer. It’s safe to say that Hoffa was more of a Nixon guy, having received a pardon from the 37th president in 1971.

Maybe Watching “The Irishman,” keep in mind that Sheeran might not have been the most reliable narrator. One of Sheeran’s biggest claims that’s been called into question is his involvement in the death of mobster “Crazy Joe” Gallo. In the film, a hit is put out on Gallo after he publicly disrespects Bufalino. While Gallo is having a birthday dinner with his family at Umberto’s Clam House, Sheeran storms in and starts shooting up the joint. Sheeran pursues Gallo outside where he finishes the job. Although this is how Sheeran actually recounted the incident, Gallo’s murder remains unsolved. According to another account, Colombo associate Joseph Luparell and four other men were responsible for the hit. Whichever version you believe, Umberto’s remains a historic mafia hit site.

Right The final hour of “The Irishman” is where the historical accuracy starts to enter a grey territory, but Hoffa was indeed last seen alive at the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Detroit. In the film, Hoffa gets stood up by Anthony Provenzano and Anthony Giacalone. He’s subsequently picked up in a car with Sheeran in the back, Sal Briguglio in the front passenger’s seat, and his foster son Chuckie O'Brien behind the wheel. While it’s hard to say if Sheeran was really in the vehicle, the FBI did believe for a long time that O’Brien drove a car that picked up Hoffa in the parking lot. Harvard professor Jack L. Goldsmith, however, has debated that O’Brien was falsely accused of driving Hoffa to his death.

#3: Only Sheeran Confessed to Hoffa’s Disappearance

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Wrong Although “The Irishman” offers Sheeran’s perspective of what happened to Hoffa, there are various other accounts and theories regarding his mysterious disappearance. For example, Donald Frankos claimed that it was mobster Jimmy Coonan who shot Hoffa and that his body was buried under New Jersey’s Giants Stadium. Serial killer Richard Kuklinski, aka The Iceman, claimed in 2006 that he iced Hoffa, crushed him up in a car, and then sold the scrap metal to Japan. According to reporter Selwyn Raab, “There are 14 people who claim to have killed Hoffa. There’s an inexhaustible supply of them.” Yet, the film makes no mention of the other people who’ve taken credit for Hoffa’s disappearance, leading us to believe that Sheeran’s version is the only one that matters.

True While we don’t see who Sheeran is telling this story to, he’s definitely confessing to someone. His narration builds to a heart-pounding moment as Sheeran escorts Hoffa into a house where Provenzano and Bufalino are supposedly waiting inside. Seeing that the house is empty, Hoffa suspects something’s amiss and immediately turns around. Before Hoffa can get out the door, though, Sheeran pulls out his gun and fires two shots point-blank. This is precisely how Sheeran detailed Hoffa’s death in Brandt’s book. As the film reveals, however, Sheeran also denied knowing anything about Hoffa’s disappearance prior to the book’s publication. In 1995, Sheeran reportedly told Kitty Caparella, “I did not kill Hoffa and I had nothing to do with it,” pinning the disappearance on Richard Nixon.

Maybe Sheeran may’ve confessed, but there’s a reason why nobody was ever found guilty of Hoffa’s death. Sheeran’s confession alone is all the FBI really has to go on, leading many to speculate if his story is true. Since Sheeran made these claims decades after the fact, it’s been difficult to come up with any concrete evidence. Reporter Eric Shawn visited the house Hoffa died in, according to Sheeran, and found traces of human blood. Yet, it wasn’t a match of Hoffa’s. Although investigator Dan Moldea believes that Sheeran “was definitely involved” in Hoffa’s demise, all of his research seems to suggest that “he confessed to a murder he didn’t commit.” So, just as the film ends on an unclosed door, Hoffa’s case remains open too.