'The Alto Knights' Review- The Editing Was Amateur Hour
Robert De Niro comically plays two roles.
The Alto Knight is a crime thriller biopic directed by Barry Levinson and written by Nicholas Pileggi. This movie was in development since the 1970s under the working title “Wise Guys.”
Mafia underboss Vito Genovese (Robert De Niro) fails to have his former friend, Luciano family boss Frank Costello (Robert De Niro), assassinated. This causes turmoil in the Mafia, with many thinking Vito overstepped. Frank then reflects on his life as a mobster, his rise to power, his marriage to Bobbie (Debra Messing), and how law enforcement is closing in on him. As he contemplates his next move, he realizes that Vito has grown too powerful for him to just move in on him, and it will take something even more devious.
The premise of the movie is very promising. It is nothing new to have a murdering psychopathic mobster reflect on his past and try to whitewash his history while narrating. That is what this is, and it makes for a compelling story at times, and it could have been good here.
I want to shout out the soundtrack. David Fleming, who you might know from Hillbilly Elegy, tackled the score and did fantastic. It was a key component in making the viewer feel that you were transported to that time period.
However, it is hampered by two problems. The first is that the editing is all over the place. It felt very amateurish with how they handled it. First of all, Frank is sometimes narrating from a random sidewalk and sometimes in a random private theater where he was watching the events. The movie should have picked one or the other. There was a scene where they went from one to the other while Frank was still talking. Who thought that was a good idea? It made it feel jarring.
Secondly, sorry, but Robert De Niro could not handle the two roles. Vito and Frank could indeed have been brothers in real life, but the film did a poor job of differentiating the two. At times, I got confused about who was who, and at one point thought Bobbie was having an affair with Vito. They did not even bother to dye their hair.
This caused glaring issues, even at the climax of the plot. I am sad to say it, but De Niro was not right to portray two different characters. They should have brought in a different actor like Al Pacino, James Woods, or Michael Madsen for the role of Vito. De Niro was perfect for Frank, but he just could not handle the two roles.
Bottom line, The Alto Knights had a great premise, but the editing and casting choices sabotage it. What could have been another contemplative mobster flick turned into a disaster.
PARENTAL CONCERNS: Strong foul language, Violence, Substance abuse
FAVORITE QUOTE: What did you do, Frank?
Check out the trailer below:
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, anime, movie, or novel you would like me to review.