The Untouchables (1987)

 The Untouchables (1987)

Without a doubt, Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables is one of the favorite movies to come from this decade. As someone who intensively studied the Prohibition era and the legend that is Al Capone, I knew this film would be up my alley. Add in Brian De Palma as director and Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro as the film’s leads, you cannot go wrong right? In my own humble opinion, that is correct. I really loved the film so much, I was surprised to see how many lukewarm reviews it received (although it still received generally high marks from critics and regular folks alike).

Why does this film speak to me so much? Firstly, the film has an authentic look and feel. The streets of Chicago were perfectly embroidered with 1930’s era cars, clothes, buildings, etc. The costume design from Marilyn Vance is impeccable, along with the production design of the sets which was put together by Hai Gausman. I loved the shiny, sleek feel of everything. Secondly, the man behind Dressed to Kill and Scarface was behind the camera. He brought the same kind of energy and style to this story. Some critics complain the film is stylistic…well, yes it is! De Palma’s style. Thirdly, the performances especially from Sean Connery are fantastic! Say what you will about Connery’s accent, but he nailed the role of Jimmy Malone. Fourthly, Ennio Morricone. Need to say anymore?

The film was written by David Mamet, who at the time was a famous playwright. His script has been criticized by his peers for not containing a point or anything meaningful to say about the story. I think the script is conventional and that is a good thing the story is told that way. His script also contained from powerful, masterful lines of dialogue. When Malone is offering his services to Ness for the first time, I loved his line about how Ness just made a blood oath. Also, individual scenes work incredibly well. The shootout at the bridge on the Canadian border is an all-timer. That scene exhibited incredible amounts of energy and I loved what Connery did to one of Capone’s dead guys. You’ll notice what I mean when you watch that scene.

Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) is a young, incorrigible treasury agent who wants to take down the notorious gangster, Al Capone (Robert De Niro). With most of the police force in Capone’s pockets, it will be a very hard if not impossible task for Ness. He receives some much-needed help when veteran, hard-nosed Irish cop, Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery) pledges his help to take down Capone. He does warn him that once he begins the war, Capone won’t stop until they are all dead. They realize they have to be mindful in their recruitment, so they hire academy cadet George Stone (Andy Garcia) and IRS agent Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) to join the team. Once the war begins, Capone finds himself unable to touch these men hence the term “The Untouchables.” Violence is used from both sides, but there could be something called tax evasion which may be Capone’s ultimate downfall.

The performances are excellent and well-rounded. Connery and Costner had excellent chemistry together. The film heralds the beginning of the success Costner would have for the next 7 or 8 years. His character is self-serious and wants to work within the law, but Costner kept the role of Ness from being too dry. Connery is the real winner here, and his performance gave him his only Oscar. I loved his gritty, hard-nosed attitude ready to kill at any moment. Despite his Scottish accent being entirely too noticeable, I can set that aside because his performance is just too darn good. I am surprised I could call De Niro’s performance underrated, but people do not give as much credit to his hammy, showy performance. He certainly hams it up, but he is certainly having fun playing this historical legend. He actually gained thirty pounds for this role, which certainly gave him an interesting look. Finally, Garcia and Smith delivered fine supporting performances to round up Ness’s team.

The Untouchables is not only a violent story about the takedown of Capone, who was in charge of Chicago’s booze during Prohibition, but it is also a story about redemption and relationships. This is one of the reasons why the film was able to attract more female viewers when it was showing in theatres (I believe it was a 50/50 split). Morricone is a music legend, and he crafted another memorable, uplifting score. He can manipulate my emotions all he wants. The look of the film is historically accurate and gorgeous. Sean Connery stole the show with one of his best career performances. I loved learning about Al Capone and the movie tells the story in a stirring, beautiful way!

My Grade: A+