The Untouchables (1987)

Directed by: Brian De Palma | 119 minutes | action, crime | Actors: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Robert de Niro, Richard Bradford, Jack Kehoe, Brad Sullivan, Billy Drago, Patricia Clarkson, Steven Goldstein, Kaitlin Montgomery, Anthony Mockus Sr.

Kevin Costner, Sean Connery and Robert de Niro as mob boss Al Capone. Just the names of the actors create excitement before you even see a minute of ‘The Untouchables’. It is one of director Brian de Palma’s most successful feature films, but you cannot speak of a classic.

Actor Kevin Costner, who broke through after the role of mob fighter Elliot Ness, is passionate about getting the boss of bosses (De Niro) under lock and key in 1920s Chicago. Costner expresses well the insecure side of Ness, the family man Elliot Ness who is afraid of dying.

Costner is outflanked several times by De Niro and a fine Connery. De Niro was made for the role of Capone, because he hisses and lashes out. Robert de Niro makes Capone not only a ruthless criminal, but also a loose cannon that poses a danger to his own environment. For example, Capone’s employees find out that a baseball bat also has other than sporting purposes. Scotsman Sean Connery proves to be more than just James Bond in ‘The Untouchables’ and rightly won an Oscar for his role as Agent Malone. Connery truthfully portrays a sincere, simple policeman who, because of his honesty, never got very far in the largely corrupt police force. It is Connery who, as a servant of humble origin, steals the show in the film.

Less of ‘The Untouchables’ is the ostentatious battle between good and evil. The motley crew of cops fighting the gangster boss more than once appears as incorruptible heroes, accompanied by the triumphant music of Ennio Morricone. De Niro is showy the evil genius, but the goodness of our four heroes can sometimes irritate. The outcome of the battle is fairly predictable. In addition to being a gangster film, ‘The Untouchables’ is a Hollywood film, which is not a condemnation, by the way. The production, the actors, the clothing: everything is taken care of down to the last detail. At times it comes across as too beautiful and too perfect.

Contrasted with the slick character of the feature is the technical craftsmanship of director Brian de Palma. Though less experimental than usual, it’s enjoying his moviemaking abilities. Various shots from above give a good overall picture and the idea that you are secretly watching the events, such as at the beginning of the story when De Niro, surrounded by journalists, is shaved by his personal barber. In addition, there are various slow-recorded shots in combination with ominous music or the tried and tested enlargement of dramatic events by De Palma. The main enlargement (the climax of ‘The Untouchables’) takes place in a train station, more often the setting of De Palma’s films. Using slow motion and widely varying camera positions, Costner and his men portray the arrest of a member of Capone’s gang. The credibility of what you see is tested, but the whole thing is incredibly well put together.

‘The Untouchables’ is a clever portrait of the fight against organized crime at the time of the Prohibition of the United States of America. The film contains a good dose of violence, but is less melancholy than, for example, Martin Scorsese’s 1990 ‘Goodfellas’, in which the bad guys are the star of the film. The guys from ‘The Untouchables’ are the lifesavers and Sean Connery gives you a trial lesson in acting.