‘The Alto Knights’ review: Robert De Niro does double duty for Barry Levinson

Dir: Barry Levinson. US. 2024. 123mins 

Set through the Fifties, the lacklustre gangster drama The Alto Knights feels old style in principally disappointing methods, reminiscent of classical Hollywood filmmaking with out the requisite ability or verve. Chronicling the feud between real-life New York mobsters (and former pals) Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, the trendy image could be based mostly on precise occasions however there isn’t a lot right here that doesn’t really feel lifted from different, higher mob motion pictures. There’s one doubtlessly fascinating wrinkle — Robert De Niro performs each characters — however that solely brings unflattering comparisons to his earlier work.

A retread of a bygone period of mobster masterpieces

With a global rollout starting March 19, this Warner Bros launch hits UK and US theatres on March 21. Snow White ought to dominate the worldwide field workplace, however older audiences could be enticed by The Alto Knights’ acquainted trappings. Past De Niro’s twin function, the image’s gangster bona fides are additional enhanced by Goodfellas co-writer Nicholas Pileggi, who penned the screenplay, and Goodfellas producer Irwin Winkler overseeing the venture. And, after all, director Barry Levinson helmed Bugsy, the Oscar-winning 1991 portrait of mobster Benjamin Siegel.

Late in his life, mob boss Frank Costello (De Niro) talks on to the digicam about his life and the way it intertwined with that of childhood pal Vito Genovese (additionally De Niro), who would develop into rivals in maturity once they had conflicting concepts about how one can run New York’s legal underworld. Beginning with a failed hit on Costello ordered by Genovese in 1957, The Alto Knights flashes again to indicate how their bond severed years earlier. Whereas Costello preached prudence and cooperation so as to guarantee entente among the many metropolis’s highly effective crime households, the way more paranoid and temperamental Genovese pursued his fierce ambitions – resulting in an eventual showdown between the previous allies. 

Levinson and cinematographer Dante Spinotti have usual a good-looking manufacturing accented by costume designer Jeffrey Kurland’s sharp interval threads. There are cosy comforts in watching the undemanding, sturdy storytelling as we await the inevitable face-off. Earlier than the Second World Battle, Genovese dominated the town, till he had take exile in Italy for nearly a decade — in his absence, Costello emerged as a extra steady, profitable boss, leading to peace and prosperity within the underworld. As quickly as Genovese returns, anticipating to be reinstalled as capo, he seeks to undermine his pal’s authority and regain his throne.

Some nice make-up work helps distinguish the 2 characters, and De Niro refrains from enjoying both man too broadly. His portrayal of Costello recollects The Irishman’s soft-spoken, considerate Frank Sheeran, whereas the hotheaded Genovese evokes Joe Pesci’s trigger-happy hoods from Goodfellas and On line casino. Costello proves to be the extra participating presence, a humble gangster who doesn’t carry a gun and resists resorting to violence. In a way, the 2 mobsters signify totally different sides of De Niro’s indelible on-screen persona, and The Alto Knights sometimes advantages from inserting them aspect by aspect – a yin and yang of rage and introspection. However, in the end, the technique works principally as a superficial contemplation of the actor’s appreciable legacy, not as an insightful examine of pals torn asunder.

A lot of the movie suffers from this identical drawback, the story bringing to thoughts previous cinematic highlights with out providing recent commentary or interrogating the style’s tropes. The Alto Knights’ bloody assassinations and world-weary observations concerning the corruption of the American dream are de rigueur, and even Genovese’s humorous tirades directed at incompetent lackeys principally function a reminder of how humorous De Niro has been in footage like Imply Streets, when he has juxtaposed menace with a live-wire wit. And whereas the occasions depicted in The Alto Knights will lead to a significant law-enforcement motion that profoundly formed the American mafia, Levinson’s sombre, pedestrian method captures neither the joy nor the momentousness of the incident.

De Niro’s lead performances outshine the remainder of the ensemble, who’re trapped in poorly-drawn roles. Every man had a vital love, with Debra Messing enjoying Costello’s longtime spouse Bobbie, a fictionalised model of his actual partner. Messing principally has to hit cliched notes of concern and devotion, whereas Kathrine Narducci a minimum of will get to indicate a bit spark as Genovese’s assertive spouse Anna, who refuses to be cowed by this blustering bully. She’s the one energetic component in a movie which too typically resembles a waxworks retread of a bygone period of mobster masterpieces.