Robert De Niro and the role of a gangster have so often gone hand-in-hand that there’s an immediate sense of ease in entering The Alto Knights, with the feeling that, if nothing else, audiences can rest assured that the legendary actor will deliver a worthy performance.
De Niro is ultimately the main reason to see The Alto Knights, but even his turn – well, turns – may not prove enticing enough, with the film unfortunately adhering to a largely uneventful mentality; the impressive pedigree behind it – director Barry Levinson (Bugsy, Rain Man) and screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi (Goodfellas, Casino) – seemingly omitting much of the action and cohesion in favour of a tell-don’t-show policy.
There’s nothing wrong with a dialogue-heavy approach to storytelling, but The Alto Knights sadly employs narrative structures that don’t work together as a whole, leaving the film underwhelming in spite of its incredibly fascinating story. Said story revolves around mafia bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, both played by De Niro, who, in 1950s New York City, were the best of friends and rivals, with the script never entirely sure which temperament it wants to commit to regarding their dynamic.
There was early word suggesting that Joe Pesci was originally on board to play either Frank or Vito, and, honestly, it makes much more sense for the actor – or any actor, for that matter – to portray one half of this duo, with De Niro’s dual role never flexing beyond the notion that it’s a gimmick of sorts. When we see pictures of the two as young boys during the film’s brief set-up of their lifelong familiarity, they aren’t identical. And the prosthetic work on De Niro for both Frank and Vito fail to really distinguish him from, well, himself. It just looks like an augmented De Niro, and when the film is so talky and often lays out conversations that can be hard to follow, it can make it even more difficult for us as an audience to lock down which mob boss we are spending time with.
It’s easier to distinguish who we’re with, De Niro wise, when the respective characters are surrounded by their inner circle, namely the women in their lives. Frank’s wife, Bobby Costello (Debra Messing), gives an air of placid protection, whilst Vito’s late-stage spouse Anna (Kathrine Narducci) brings a fiery passion to proceedings. Messing doesn’t have much to do, sadly, as Bobby never graduates beyond worrying, watching TV and feeling strongly about their dogs, but she’s a pleasant constant presence in the film. Narducci is given a much showier role, and when she’s going toe-to-toe with the more womanizing Vito it jolts the film temporarily. However, in a case of there perhaps being too much story to tell between these two figures, once she stirs up tension between Vito and Frank, and makes a show during their divorce hearing, she’s exited from the film and never spoken of again.
Too much and yet not enough is how it’s best to sum up The Alto Knights. There’s such a wealth of story here, but it feels incredibly rushed. Aside from Frank’s narration – which also includes sequences of De Niro, in multiple locations, talking to the camera (a device that’s never explained) – we are just meant to believe he and Vito are friends. Had the film opted to play Frank as an unreliable narrator, that could’ve added an interesting layer to their dynamic, and as to why Vito wanted to take Frank out so desperately, but it quite quickly blows through their history. It keeps us at an arm’s length, but expects us to want a front row seat to a show that doesn’t entirely explain itself.
All that being said, the film adopts a grainy period aesthetic that brings to mind films of the appropriate time frame. Levinson, like he did with Bugsy, has a knack for bringing us into a recreated environment, and he does his best with a story that foregoes much of the violent action we’d expect from such a telling. Similarly, De Niro – distracting prosthetics aside – does deliver two fine performances, even managing to inject healthy bouts of comedy throughout, giving the film some much needed levity when it’s getting too bogged down in its own seriousness.
In the wake of features like The Irishman, The Alto Knights can’t help but pale in comparison, but it’s also unfair to this film, given that Scorsese has nothing to do with it. Though this story seems as if it’s better suited to a mini-series, I still have to commend The Alto Knights for embracing its storytelling-for-adults intellect in a time when films of this ilk feel less and less like a cinematic priority.
TWO AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Alto Knights is now screening in Australian theatres. It is scheduled to release in the United States on March 21st, 2025.
