Revue “ The Alto Knights '': two from Niros, many criminal films nod

Martin Scorsese 2019 drama “The Irishman”, With the longtime collaborator, Robert de Niro, was a reflection – or perhaps even a praise for – the kind of gangster film that the pair made famous, like Scorsese making goodbyes to the genre, ruminating about what it means telling stories about men of violence.

But if you thought that from Niro had been released, he is back for a last job (for the moment), bringing together another frequent collaborator, director Barry Levinson, for the film of the crowd “The Alto Knights”, scripted by “Goodfellas” and “Casino” Screenwriter Nicholas PILEGI.

There is a catch, a gadget, even, while de Niro plays in front of himself, playing both Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, two real Italian mafiosi who inspired many films and documentaries. It was a seismic moment when from Niro and Al Pacino shared the screen for the first time on a coffee in the epic of Michael Mann “Heat,” And scenes of similar appearance are presented here while De Niro faces himself, although they do not wear the same electricity.

As you remember all these other films, it becomes clear that “The Alto Knights” is more interesting in the context of Robert de Niro's filmography than necessarily as an autonomous image. Like “The Irishman”, there is a reflective quality, as meditation on MOB films. It is a reminder that the presence of Niro – as an actor and meaning of the gangster film – is so large that he could play the emblematic roles of Costello and Genovese. There is simply no one else who could go with him, apart from him.

In the point of view of Niro on Genovese, Sparkier and more impulsive than Costello, it almost seems that he makes an imitation of Joe Pesci, his co-star in “Goodfellas”, “Casino” and “The Irishman”. It takes a while to synchronize with the double performances of De Niro (it is strongly composed in prostheses), although its credit, the artifice fades during the duration of the execution.

To try to synops the various essays and tribulations of the genovese crime family during the first half of the 20th century would be a crazy race, and Levinson and Pileggi both recognize on some key events in the history of the long -standing relationship between Costello and Genovese – namely most of the end of the last time the last is the first.

The intrigue is told in a non -linear way and with a larger narrative framing device in which of Niro as an elderly Costello delivers an interview with the documentary style speech to an invisible interviewer, which serves as a voiceover from the film. Levinson animates many monologues from Costello on his life and work with a mixture of archival photographs and false archival and sequences, creating snapshots of history as a nod to the authenticity of this true story.

These busy stylistic and narration tics, as well as the duels of Niros, are a bit distracting, but when “the Alto Knights” arrive in his successful scenes, it is easy to be transported by the skillful cinema of Levinson and the performances of De Niro. Although the assassination attempt is the main event around which the film runs, it is an audience in the Senate on organized crime, then, later, a New York rally in the north of the bosses which proves its most fascinating sequences.

The film sings when it is in action, whether it is to break it with the oath of silence of the family and the choice not to plead the fifth during his testimony to the Senate, or during a funny scene of Costello delaying his arrival at the meeting of the campaign to avoid being gathered in a balayage of the police which he started. It ends when he gets bogged down in conversations in the background that live in the details of betrayal and double crosses.

But as much as “The Alto Knights” is a meta-commentary on MOB films, it is also a classic example of the genre that fans can appreciate. It is a treat to look at all these older character actors gathered to slip into their wise accents and Cosmo Jarvis (of “Shōgun”) is an out -of -competition point, almost unrecognizable that the Lord of the Crime Vincent Gigante.

“The Alto Knights” does not quite reach the emotional and existential heights of “The Irishman”, but it has a similar tone, thinking about a long career of violence (cinematographic). There is an observation at the end that it was the only way for immigrants from the 20th century to grasp the American dream, an idea that turns into all American gangster films. This Curio of a film could have deepened what it means to be a gangster, but its main themes resonate all the same.

Katie Walsh is a film critic from the Tribune Information Service.