Directed by: Brian De Palma
Starring: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith, Patricia Clarkson, Richard Bradford
Like many Brian De Palma films, The Untouchables contains big sets, big gunfights, and big bursts of sudden violence. This is a director not interested in subtlety or small personal projects. It is easy to take his talent for granted, but if you think about his filmography, we see he is a master. Besides The Untouchables, De Palma directed Carrie, Dressed To Kill, Body Double, Blow Out, Wise Guys, Mission: Impossible, Casualties of War, and Carlito's Way. I'm sure I'm missing a few other gems, but you see my point. De Palma loves complex thrillers and exudes sheer joy in making them.
The Untouchables is based on the 1950's television series which starred Robert Stack as Treasury officer Eliot Ness, who was tasked with ridding Chicago of illegal alcohol distribution during Prohibition. The movie and series are loosely based on the real-life endeavors of Ness and Al Capone, who ran Chicago for intents and purposes and was even called The Mayor. Ness (Costner) is a straight-laced, by-the-book agent determined to bring down Capone. He meets resistance from not only outside factors, but from within the corrupt Chicago police department. It is by sheer luck that he crosses paths with Jimmy Malone (Connery), an honest cop whom he enlists in his fight. A police academy recruit with a deadly aim (Garcia) and a treasury accountant (Smith) join Ness to form The Untouchables.
The group harasses Capone's organization at every turn, leading Capone to drastic measures. ("I want Ness DEAD. I want his family DEAD.") Malone instills in Ness the practical realization that lines between cop and criminal may need to be crossed if Capone is to be brought down. Malone tells Ness, in a church of all places, "Here's how you get Capone. He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue."
De Palma creates some imaginative gunfights, especially in the train station as Capone's bookkeeper is attempting his getaway. A baby in a carriage in is sure danger of bullets whizzing by. It is well choreographed and suspenseful. The film's look is a successful and faithful recreation of Prohibition era Chicago, especially the lobby of the hotel which Capone uses as his base of operations. It's plush, but the walls and carpet are blood red. Symbolism perhaps? Nah.
Kevin Costner plays Ness first as a staunch idealist who transitions into a staunch realist. He doesn't have a lot of personality, but we still root for him. Sean Connery won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role here. Malone is the catalyst for Ness' changes. He may be honest, but he knows a lot because he observes a lot. Connery's performance is the most vibrant in the film. I also appreciated Andy Garcia's quiet recruit who will not hesitate to draw his weapon when the need arises.
DeNiro gained weight for the role of Capone, a media darling who holds court with the press. He does little to mask his intentions. ("If someone's going to mess with me, I'm going to mess with him.") We gain insight on what makes him brutal, but do we gain insight on how he created and maintained his empire? One of the weaknesses of The Untouchables is how little we understand Capone. We see no evidence of the intelligent Capone, just the ruthless one. It's one-dimensionally written, but DeNiro does what he can with it. Smith's Oscar Wallace is another version of the nerdy bookworm he has played in films like Never Cry Wolf and American Graffiti. I liked him better in Lucky You, where he had an edge to him.
Small issues aside, The Untouchables is an entertaining, violent film. It is not encumbered by deep meaning or too much meandering. It is good vs. evil, with occasional shades of gray and difficult not to enjoy on that level.
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