Could Henry Hill’s narration throughout Goodfellas really be his confession to the FBI? Here’s what a fan theory says about this.
A fan theory suggests that Henry Hill’s narration throughout good friends he’s actually talking to the FBI. Martin Scorsese is one of the most respected filmmakers in the industry and while he has explored a variety of genres throughout his career as a filmmaker, from black comedy to After hours to the psychological thriller with Taxi driverAmong many others, he continues to be best known for his gangster films, primarily for how he has approached those stories, exploring Italian-American identity and themes like guilt and redemption.
Although he has made several gangster movies, the one that is often considered the best is the 1990 movie. good friends, based on the book Smart boy by Nicholas Pileggi. It tells the life of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his teenage days running errands for Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his crew to his full involvement with the Lucchese crime family. Henry became very close to some big names in the mob, such as Jimmy “The Gent” Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), but his good relationship with them and many others came to an end once he was converted. in an FBI Whistleblower, and thanks to their testimonies, Paulie and Jimmy were sent to prison.
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Along the good friends, viewers are directed by Henry himself as he provides a voice-over narration. Thanks to him, the audience becomes better acquainted with the main characters and learns some of the rules and terms that are used in the mafia, such as what it is to be a “good friend” and what it means to become a “grown man”. Henry’s narration becomes part of the scene right at the end of good friends, where he breaks the fourth wall while testifying against Paulie and Jimmy and explains to the audience everything he just lost by becoming an informant and sending his former colleagues to jail. Henry breaks the fourth wall for the last time in the final scene of the film, where he takes the newspaper outside his new home, looks at the camera, and returns home. Now some viewers have interpreted Henry’s narration as more than just a guide for the audience, suggesting that it was part of his conversation with the feds.
The theory, shared in Reddit, explains that Henry’s narration throughout good friends is actually him telling his whole story to the FBI, from the moment he was fascinated by the presence of the mafia in his neighborhood, to the moment he decided to cooperate with them and join, together with his family, the protection program of witnesses. The author writes that this would explain why Henry shares the meaning behind some of the mob terms and what they all did to survive, among other things, and the theory is supported by how in some parts of the movie he is actually his. wife, Karen. Hill (Lorraine Bracco), who does the narration, as she also shares her story and point of view with the FBI. Another Reddit user shared his take on the theory, suggesting that instead of Henry’s narration being his conversation with the feds, it is actually his testimony during the courtroom scene, which explains why he continues. once he breaks the fourth wall.
This point of view would also explain why Henry shows himself in a more sympathetic light than the rest of the gangsters, and why he distanced himself (most of the time, at least) from most of the violence that occurs in good friends. Ultimately, this is open to interpretation by each viewer, who will decide whether Henry’s narration is his confession to the FBI, his conversation in the courtroom scene, or just another narrator in a movie added to guide the audience. through history.
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