The Alto Knights

If I ever wondered why "The Alto Knights", a return to the Gangster genre for both Robert De Niro and Nicholas Pileggi, was so under advertised prior to its release, having seen it I don't wonder anymore. It's because it's not very good.

In his retirement, Frank Costello (Robert De Niro) recounts the story of his life, intertwined as it was with that of Vito Genovese (Robert De Niro). Having grown up together and risen the ranks of the mafia - Frank makes a play for some legitimacy having become "the boss of bosses" whilst Vito was trapped overseas by World War 2 and other legal issues. On his return to America, Vito wants to resume his role at the top and introduce a burgeoning narcotics business to the group. Frank is resistant but learns that Vito will take back what he lost by force, if he needs too.

Impressively, I think that De Niro is miscast twice in this film. It would be fine if he just played reflective, end of the road Costello, bookending the film and providing voice over. But he also plays both middle aged Costello and middle-aged Genovese in enough prosthetics that you can tell them apart, but not enough so you can't tell it's him. Why? Don't know. The characters aren't twins, or even related, they don't feel like two sides of the same coin, or even similar men ripped apart by circumstances. He felt - to me - too old to be playing either of them and Vito in particularly doesn't feel like he has the sort of crazy, unhinged energy that other characters suggest he has.

It's not the only problem with the film though, perhaps not even the biggest one. For me, it felt like a TV movie. For all the experience, including Barry Levinson behind the camera, it's a low-key affair. With the dialogue often delivered with what I imagine was supposed to be 'naturalistic' but feels more like characters couldn't hear each other. The mix of flashback and documentary style viewing is confused and there's not really anything in the story that hasn't been taken and used in another, better, mob film, or series.

Never so bad that I thought about leaving, but definitely a slog to get through.

After seeing over the years Robert De Niro star in gangster films such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino, and The Irishman, it's astonishing to see him play gangster fresh in The Alto Knights. Sure, we've seen most of his facial and vocal turns before, but never in two different mobsters in the same film with two distinct personalities.

Narrator Frank Costello (De Nir0) is an analytical businessman not wholly invested in being a mid-twentieth century icon; his former best friend from youth, Vito Genovese (De Niro), is a hot head bound to lead the mob in the US, regardless of his friendship with current mob head, Frank. To see De Niro play both nose to nose in negotiations is to see one of the great film actors of all time.

When you look into Frank's eyes, you see latent menace that has caused countless deaths. Looking at Vito's glasses, you don't have the depth but rather a surface violence, hardly hidden. A great actor brings both distinct personalities alive.

Director Barry Levinson also brings his memorable work with Bugsy and Wag the Dog while writer Nicholas Pileggi brings traces of success from Goodfellas and Casino. With the three pedigrees converging in The Alto Knights, you must expect greatness, and you get it, maybe not throughout but enough to say that if Coppola and Brando had also been involved, this film would have been incomparable.

Most scenes are intimate as Frank's wife Bobbie (Debra Messing), and he quietly map out their fate. More flamboyant is Vito's wife, Anna (Katherine Narducci), whose courtroom histrionics as she testifies against him is the stuff of in your face while it contrasts with De Niro's subtler approach (not his usual path). The variety of acting and its excellence makes this a gangster film you should not refuse.

This film was a bit like all of the other Robert De Niro Italian Mafia films, so you know what you're going to get. It's enjoyable, and by no means a bad film, but a tad formulaic.

I am unclear why De Niro played both main characters - at times it felt a little confused and, to be honest, my mind wandered to the prosthesis that went in to differentiating his looks. Was the fact he played both, a metaphor on the nature of the individuals (because this was based on real people), a commentary on the nature of the type of people involved, just a bit of fun for the actor, or an attempt to save money? Whichever, whilst it didn't have much of an impact on the film, it was odd.

As I say above, even though formulaic, an Nobel film, but with no surprises.

The Alto Knights- In Cinemas now My Rating - 6/10

I wondered why and how a Robert Di Niro movie based on a true story about two rival New York organised Crime bosses directed by Barry Levinson could possibly flop at the box office?

Is it because there's been so many movies along similar lines starring Robert Di Niro like The Irishman 2019, Goodfellas 1990, The Godfather 11 1974, A Bronx Tail 1993, The Untouchables 1987, and Once Upon a Time in America 1984 etc?

Perhaps audiences are a bit tired of mafioso and gangsters however for me the reason The Alto Knights is inferior to the above listed movies is misplaced ego .

By that I mean as fine an actor as DeNiro is playing two roles in one movie especially when the only difference basically is a different nose and chin only confuses the characters for the audience and is a stretch to far.

I found myself trying to differentiate between the two main characters Frank Costello and Vito Genovese both played well by Robert DeNiro however it would have been better separate actors played each role .

After all they're not even related but look like twins , it's just a silly casting choice.

The story meanders also back and forth and doesn't have much impact at all.

It's basically the story of 2 gangland bosses on a collision course as told by Frank Costello married to Bobbie played very well by Debra Messing ,nice to see her in a dramatic role.

The usual scenario of gangland violence as the 2 men who were friends as teenagers vie for control of the drug trafficking and alcohol supply on New Yorks city's streets.

Once best friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals set them on a deadly collision course.

For me this is a straight to streaming movie.

The Alto Knights... It takes all of the charm of GoodFellas (and is very clearly written by the same guy: Nicholas Pileggi), but it lacks the mastery that Scorsese brings, instead looking like a lazy knock-off. It has plenty of potential, but it chooses to take the easy way out and ends up feeling half-baked.

GoodFellas has one of the best narrations of all time by Henry Hill and his wife, Karen, and this movie attempts to do the same. However, it ultimately hurts more than it helps. Instead of adding on to the story, De Niro sits there and tells you the story for the first half hour. He tells you about himself and the other main characters and everyone's entire backstory, rather than letting you experience it for yourself. It starts off like nothing more than a bedtime story with some black and white stock footage of Hell's Kitchen in New York thrown on screen. Then it abandons the narration for a bit before picking it back up. It doesn't let you experience the characters and feel for them; it tells you exactly what it wants you to know, with no creativity, no room for interpretation, and no flair, all of which are things that a movie needs.

Apart from that, the writing is not particularly bad. It's nothing special, but it doesn't hurt the movie. De Niro does his best with what he's given, but the dual role ends up being too distracting. His dialogue scenes with himself feel clunky and out of place. All I could think about was how perfectly Joe Pesci would fit into that role as a short-tempered, stubborn mob boss (who lies to make himself taller).

This movie had so much potential, in both its story and its cast, but it was wasted, instead cutting corners. Yet, despite all of this, it was still a little bit of fun, and nice to see just a straightforward, traditional gangster movie. It's easy enough to look past all of its flaws and enjoy it (most of the time). There are some good moments of suspense, a few comedic lines, and even most of the side characters feel well-rounded enough to be believable. Unfortunately, this movie is only just good enough, nothing special, but it's for sure worth a watch if you get the chance.