Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Alto Knights 

This is a film that I think is one of the last traditional mob films we will ever get from this genre with these types of creatives involved! Now I know it is not even in the same league of The Irishman that to me still was the closing chapter on the gangster scene from a filmmaker that redefined the genre with that great echo piece of movie making. Now that being said seeing Robert De Niro and Barry Levinson team up once again for this gangster biopic duel role film is very exciting. Robert De Niro plays both roles as Frank Costello and Vito Genovese and his role as Vito I think is far better than this turn as frank but I will discuss that later. I don’t think this film is bad by any means I do think the plot is very generic at times but it is due to the great style of the film itself and mr De Niro doing a lot of the heavy lifting of the film it makes it pop the way it does. Alto Knights is film I had a great time with and seeing De Niro back in the gangster genre playing an old school mob boss whats not to love.

Firstly, Barry Levinson has crafted another mob film that will no doubt become a classic in years to come in the same vein that Scarface was met with criticism upon its release. Now this film has been judged at being very simplistic with not much depth to a degree I can see their points but you also would have to say that about a number of other gangster films that follow the same type of agenda. As yes it has the stereotypical female character that usually is arm candy but their have been instances where the female’s play a prominent role in films like Casino, Goodfellas and I would even say Raging Bull and yes I did name Scorsese films in particular as those are instances where it is very much male dominated but also the female voice is shown despite people thinking they don’t play significant roles within the genre. Now I can’t defend it here as much because the woman do play mostly paint by numbers roles that aren’t showing them in much of a light they are delegated to the back burner and aren’t given much to flesh out in terms of character that is the one knock I will give the film but at the same time so many other films have done the same thing so what makes this any different. If we are putting ourselves in the mindset of that time period most woman were shunned and talked down to hell That is still happening today it was way worse then and if anything it is showing the mistreatment of how woman were seen mostly as arm candy and just an accessory instead of a person. The film also does surface level writing which is another issue I had is that their are gaps in years when we are seen with these two men’s lives and I was very engaged into learning all their is to know about them now I feel this is a film that would of benefited greatly if it had a lengthier runtime as it is just around the two hour mark I do not see that as long enough to cover both of these men’s lives as Vito and Frank had a very complicated and frequently tense relationship. I was wanting more is what I am saying and they skip over key plot points like Vito extorting his wife’s business as we see them happy and in love and the next their getting divorced their should of been more build up to that as it felt so abrupt and sudden their were things they most definitely should of expanded on so we got a more full scope of the story instead of the spark notes treatment. Now for my positives the film has a terrific sense of style and editing as it jumps back to a younger Vito and frank to show the young dynamic they had and the birth of their relationship I thought was a nice touch and even though the film may not have given me enough of these men’s story I felt engaged the whole way through their was no time where I was wanting it to be over I thought the pacing was solid and the sheer way they get you hooked into the film within the first frame was so great. The second best part that is the sheer outstanding feature of this film is the performances which I will touch on in a moment. Overall I will say the film did lack a certain amount of depth but that being said it gives that old school gangster storytelling that fans of this genre myself included have come to enjoy and with the editing and sheer strong performances it makes you overlook the flaws if it did have a sharper way of telling the story this would of been one of the best of its genre of the decade but it is good which isn’t a bad thing just it could of strengthened things in some areas. 

Secondly, Robert Freaking De Niro is the man in this film! Now the only performance that stands out is the handling of the duel performance from screen icon mr Robert De Niro who plays Frank Costello and Vito Genovese and now I will dissect his performance of both men in a bit but what I will say is this late in his career after such a phenomenal body of work he has crafted to want to do a duel performance with two characters in his 80’s is no easy feat for the screen legend. That being said De Niro has always approached his roles with a great work ethic and a respect to the craft that has been studied many times over for his attention to detail in character work and here he Is no different with how he takes on these two men at polar ends with each other and he springs them to life in a way that will have you smiling seeing him revisit a genre that he has basically perfected over the many years of tackling character within the genre so many times. His take on the quiet yet stern Frank Costello is amazing but what was even better Was his performance as Vito Genovese as he had to wear heavier prosthetic makeup you can see he moved different he spoke in another way that wasn’t like himself he fully embodied that role out of the two his take on Vito really stood out to me. Robert De Niro shows even at this time in his life he is still one of the greatest men to grace the screen and his performance here reminds of just that. Everyone else who was involved gives solid work but it’s the sheer magnetic work by De Niro that stands among the rest.  

Lastly, Alto Knights is a fine film that had the potential to be something truly special but instead played it safe and didn’t go deep enough into the material it was covering. Robert De Niro gives it his all in a duel performance that is a great showcase of his talent and unfortunately that is where the praise ends if you love a good Robert De Niro performance you will not be disappointed but he is good enough to keep you entertained through this level surface gangster flick. Alto Knights is a ok time but De Niro carries this film on his back I do recommended people check this film out if you are fans of this kind of film and of the genre their is plenty I feel people will find to enjoy from this. 

The story centres around the aftermath following the attempted assassination attempted on Frank Costello and the sheer aftermath that happened after it but most importunely what let to it getting to that point

Rated R :Violence|Pervasive Language

Robert De Niro : De Niro is a screen icon and there is no arguing he has put himself as a hall of fame of actors as one of the best actors to ever step on a film set. So I knew he would turn in a solid performance in Alto Knights as he always gives it his absolute all but seeing him tackle 2 roles within one film is a interesting challenge for him as he has never done that before. Here he plays the duel roles of Frank Costello and Vito Genovese and now I will start with his take on the calm and level headed politically driven and criminally dealing Frank Costello now their isn’t much makeup on De Niro as version on Frank but his sheer attitude and way he carried himself was different as he had this mentality that he would be safe in situations that most would feel terrified in because he knows how strong his power he has politically over the crime underworld and his ties he has with multiple associates in that line of work. De Niro plays Frank calmly he never really raises his tone as he knows that won’t do him any good he is at the period in his life where he wants to just enjoy the years he has left and peacefully at that but sadly a old childhood friend comes back into his life causing all kinds of trouble he didn’t need and he just sucks him into it forcing him to have to confront his past and put things to bed for good that should of been dealt with a Long time ago. Frank has also been out of the loop of criminals would act as he was a young punk growing up and then him and his friend Vito did a lot of things together that many would label as criminal activity and Vito kept at it but Frank went in the direction of wanting to spend his life in political power and Vito never changed he remained a gangster if anything he fell deeper into that lifestyle. Frank knows where he came from but does not do much reflecting on his previous life when he was younger he can use that muscle if needed but does not want to have to resort to it unless absolutely needed and even then he will do it in a more calmer manner then how Vito does he is old fashioned where he thinks you can deal with business in ways that don’t involve violence where Vito is more of the mind a scare tactic is a faster way of getting an answer out of someone. Frank is constantly growing more and more frustrated as the story progresses but where Vito lashes out Frank more keeps to himself and De Niro plays him in a way where he can see he is thinking of how he can take down Vito to calm this situation down but he won’t reveal it to anyone verbally he knows what he has to do and only he can do it. It is a calm and well thought out man we see that is constantly 5 steps ahead of anyone else and just because he isn’t in that life anymore does not mean he has no idea how to deal with them when they come back in his life sure he has been a bit more off guard as he has been out of the game for so long. De Niro’s take on the political figure mob boss that is Frank Costello was greatly brought to the screen with a confidence and calm stern insight into the man that had to bring down a childhood friend. Now the way he plays Vito is phenomenal! He plays the terrifying unpredictable man that wants to bring back the old ways of gangsters to New York once he returns home. Now I am not saying his turn as Frank Costello isn’t good he is solid in the role but his portrayal of Vito seemed like a lot more for him to sink his teeth into in terms of research, and overall he seems to be having a hell of a time doing the heavy prosthetic role for this one as he brings Vito to life with such a intense amount of emotion that is tremendous. He is a guy that wants to respect his dear friend Frank but thinks he has lost his memory of where he has come from So in the beginning he is more patient as he gave the keys to power over to Frank when he went away and now wants to come back to the way things were before he left and he learns very quickly that is not whats going to happen. He has a tough time adjusting to this nee reality that he is going to have to scrap and struggle to get back and fight for the position he had before he left and Frank and many others are nervous how he goes about doing it as it is disruptive loud and straight up violent in his way of getting things done. De Niro has this look in his eye as Vito that is dark and at times black as you do not know when he is going to fly off the handle as he is so emotionally unstable in his actions it is frankly terrifying and De Niro uses that fear to his advantage. He changes his voice to the way he walks he fully embodied Vito and consumed himself in the character entirely in a while and now he has given great performances recently but it has been a while where he has changed his psychical nature and voice to adapt to a role and lost himself entirely in the part. Here he soars as Vito and shows this complicated individuals way of doing business now he didn’t do a impression of the man as he is a heavily documented guy and their have been multiple books and documentaries done on him and De Niro could of done a performance that was more just a impression of who he is but instead he decided to give what he thought was the closest take on the man that he could get while being faithful to the person he was portraying. He constantly is causing a commotion in his life as he has problems in his marriage, his work and then his relationship with Frank their comes a moment where things do eventually come crashing down on him and De Niro is able to show that decline into madness as he starts off okay in terms of his working relationship with Frank but then it becomes a full on war in terms of who should be the one calling the shots. De Niro gives one of my favourite recent performances of his with his take on Vito Genovese and you can tell he is having the time of his life delving into this role he utters each word with such passion and commitment and seeing him back in the gangster genre just has a big smile on my face. De Niro did a tough task of someone at this stage in their life to do duel roles is no easy task and I think De Niro did a outstanding job at really showing a new side of his acting talents of taking on double duty and making both roles very different in how he portrayed them both giving them individually characteristics that made them stand out overall De Niro does a terrific job doing this tight rope performance.

Berry Levinson :  Levinson takes on the Gangster genre once again giving what I think will end up becoming a new classic within thew genre! Barry has given us Bugsy and now this but has worked with De Niro multiple times so he knows how to pull a great performance from the acclaimed actor. The film does have a bit of a trope going on with a few of the creative decisions but the thing that the film has greatly working for it is the duel role of De Niro vs De Niro in a type of performance we had not seen him do onscreen before. This film could of been really boring in the hands of another filmmaker but paring the directing  talents of  Bugsy the writer of Goodfellas and Oscar Winner Robert De Niro yeah its a film that will make people intrigued what is in store. The film tackles the very complicated relationship between Frank Costello and Vito Genovese in particular it covers the aftermath surrounding the attempted attack on Frank Costello’s life who’s orders were given by his friend who at one point admired him now wants him dead. The film excels at the build up of what led up to that moment of sheer hostility between the two and why they didn’t exactly see eye to eye. The film also did a solid job at showing these men’s life and filling in the blanks of who they were at home and at work it was very informative of giving the audience on who these men were as to some people walking into a screening of this film they’ll have no idea who these criminals were. After walking out of the film it does give a fully realized depiction of who they were I was left satisfied with that but the only gripe I had is they gave me a basic understanding of them but I do feel the film could of benefited by digging even deeper into these two men’s lives. That being said the film is enjoyable for what it gives the audience but I did feel I could of been wanting more from it in terms of detail into the men’s lives Berry Levinson did a exceptional job at showing the rising tension between the two men but sadly lacked much depth at showing who they were as individuals overall Berry presents a old school gangster film that could of been a lot better but settled for decent. It was great seeing him revisit the genre no doubt but I wish he just went all in instead of scratching the surface with his research on the story Overall a good job by Berry Levinson.