The Alto Knights
Warners Bros
Robert De Niro and Barry Levinson’s cinematic partnership has been a prosperous albeit almost silent success. Be it Wag the Dog, Sleepers, What Just Happened and Wizard of Lies, each showcasing an intriguing layer of its star in De Niro as well as the chameleon-like approach of its director. Here arrives the latest partnership with the gangster flick The Alto Knights; an ambitious feature allegedly championed by Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav through the vision of famed writer of Casino and Goodfellas in Nicholas Pillegi that finds its leading star portray duel roles of two 1950s ageing mob bosses pitted against each other in a long history of jealousy, bitterness and greed.
Starting with the positives, De Niro comes out of this entire venture on top. The two performances that De Niro crafts are engaging and opposites that evoke venom and emotion. Both opposing figures have life and energy that ultimately immerse the viewer, with De Niro showcasing a terrific range on occasion, where the feature demands it. Especially amid the likes of angst or trepidation, in particular the feeling of fear that both these characters feel in dramatically differing, albeit suffocating circumstances and consequences. Granted, the emotive beats are simple and somewhat one-note but De Niro seemingly is relishing strutting his stuff after years and years of stagnation. Levinson does a commendable job behind the camera, but much like his extensive filmography, crafts a workman-like approach with little style or aesthetic to be found, but an undoubtedly adequate feature is crafted regardless of its needed trimmings for added immersion or entertainment to substantiate its period setting further.
The issue that primarily affects this whole venture is that the central narrative and arcs are so ludicrously uninteresting that it begins to be painful to sit through until its anticlimactic conclusion. It pits itself on paper as an incredibly rich tapestry and exploration of two warring minds and strategies. The result is a depiction of banal and uninspired plotting that attempts to be The Irishman or The Many Saints of Newark without a feeling of vision or intrigue. This strangely feels more accustomed to the flow and storytelling in long-form content as a television show, rather than aimlessly wandering around for two hours, never really finding common ground. Scenes aimlessly sink and swallow into narrative arcs of passive meets offensive - switching between the two characters like yin and yang - but without any solid intrigue in actually uncovering said characteristics to a degree of suitable interest or engagement. This dynamic results in a dim and often lifeless prolonged conflict that feeds itself with no vested interest nor intention to demand more from its script. Culminating in what has to be one of the most diminishing and torturous final acts that don’t bear witness to the absolute nothingness that commences.
So much build-up, so much potential and inspiration left to waste in a tired as well as lifeless exploit. Granted, while De Niro manages to keep his head above the waterline, as well as a commendable performance from Cosmo Jarvis, who undoubtedly takes the shine as an incompetent sidekick with genuinely engaging and hilarious results, it is shocking to see how far this project has fallen from grace. For a project that feels as if it should be De Niro on screen battling against the likes of a titan counterpart in Joe Pesci, here instead is battling against the shadows of the past with no positive connotations of the phrase. Ultimately, The Alto Knights is far too mundane a project to even remotely consider spending time watching or even thinking about. Far grandiose and personal projects counter this dismal and disappointing feature that fails to pack either a punch or bite.
