The Audition (2015) – A Short Film by Martin Scorsese

The Audition – Just How Far Would An Actor Go To Get The Part?

The Audition (2015)
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Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in a Martin Scorsese flick – this is a film buff’s ultimate nerdgasm. Add Brad Pitt to the cast, and we have the perfect overkill!

Made as a promotional piece for Australian hotelier James Packer’s Crown Casinos in Manila and Macau (Studio City), The Audition is a 2015 short film directed by Martin Scorsese. It stars Hollywood heavyweights – Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, playing fictionalised versions of themselves, who travel through Asia and compete against each other for a potential role in Scorsese’s next film.

The Audition – Synopsis

The story is this: Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio meet with Martin Scorsese at the City of Dreams Resort in Manila to audition for his newest film. Despite their long histories of working with Scorsese, the two actors learn they are competing against one another for the same role. Scorsese explains the potential role to his two muses as they continue to Studio City in Macau. As De Niro and DiCaprio listen, both plead their personal cases as to why they are right for the part, exhausting Scorsese.

While the three have dinner in the hotel, Scorsese becomes inspired when he sees an advertisement featuring Brad Pitt. The three then make their way towards Japan, where De Niro and DiCaprio make their final cases for the part. Scorsese then suddenly announces that neither is right for the role and quickly parts ways with the two. As De Niro and DiCaprio ponder amongst themselves as to why they were not selected, they catch Scorsese meeting with Pitt, who had arrived in Japan on short notice.

De Niro and DiCaprio then realise that Pitt was chosen for the role, and the two walk off into the night in disappointment.

The Audition – Pitting DiCaprio Against De Niro

It is Scorsese’s first film to feature both De Niro and DiCaprio. Both actors had individually worked with Scorsese several times in the past (De Niro with eight films, DiCaprio with five), but the three had never collaborated together. Brad Pitt, also playing a fictionalised version of himself, makes a cameo appearance.

The story follows De Niro and DiCaprio as they arrive at the Manila resort, both competing for the same part in Martin Scorsese’s next. Sure, the premise seems promising, but it sounds better than it actually plays out. Barring a couple of witty lines and the banter between Sorcesese’s favourite muses, the film offers nothing new or distinctive. Also, Brad Pitt’s character’s bad acting was nauseating, to say the least; as a good actor he could have done better (or is it worse?). The only good thing to be said is that the actors were having a good time at their own expense.

The Audition – Just Another Cash Grab Routine?

Sadly, The Audition doesn’t live up to the hype; the long-awaited De Niro-DiCaprio-Scorsese team up, though awesome to see, fails to light up the screen. The project was a cash cow, a quick cash grab for all those involved. With a massive budget of $70 million, each actor was reportedly paid a whopping $13 million, for less than two days’ work, and the whole thing was over in less than a week.

You know money is the name of the game when a short film with a $70 million budget is specially commissioned to commemorate the opening of the $3.2 billion Studio City resort in Macau. As rightly believed by many, the film was a promotional piece rather than one of artistic merit.

Oy vey!

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Verdict of The Idiot

Idiot-o-Meter: Take It Easy, Dude!
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The Idiot’s Rating System:

4.0 – 5.0: The Dude Abides!
3.0 – 4.0: Far Out, Man!
2.0 – 3.0: Take It Easy, Dude!
1.0 – 2.0: You’re Out Of Your Element!
0.0 – 1.0: The Goddamn Plane Has Crashed Into The Mountain!