Rusalka's twenty-fifth film review: A gangsterland opus that starts shooting blazes but ends up shooting blanks

Rating: Null/10 (30 June 2003)

1930
Prohibition has turned Chicago into a city at war. Rival gangs compete for control of the city's billion dollar empire of illegal alcohol, enforcing their will with the hand grenade and tommy gun. It is the time of the gangsters...it is the time of Al Capone.
With this title card, Brian DePalma's grand opus to the era of Prohibition begins. The Untouchables tells the story of Elliot Ness, the man responsible for bringing Al Capone to his knees and finally to justice. Kevin Costner, in one of his many "dry as a bone emotionally" roles plays Ness as a passive-aggressive monster. At times, when he is without a tommy gun in his hand, Costner's Ness becomes as soft as a newborn puppy dog. When he is with the police force he is almost maniacal in his attempt to eradicate Al Capone from the streets of the world in total. For this reason, I give DePalma kudos for casting Costner in this role. He is just like a whute blob upon the screen in every scene he appears in, forcing those actors and actresses around him to pick up the cues and carry on without him, almost as if he isn't there to begin with.
Backing up Costner, De Palma cast some of the most veritable actors in the cinema canon to be his cohorts: Robert DeNiro, Andy Garcia and Sean Connery. It was with his role as Malone, the trenchant Irish cop that Connery finally snagged his first Academy Award. Some of his scenes within this film to me are reasons why he won the award to begin with!
As a film in general, the Untouchables reaches for the gold, blazing out of the gate only to stumble upon reaching the finish line. Even a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist David Mamet couldn't begin to save this film which on its own merit has some very good sections. It is almost as if the film staggers about from one bloodshed to another, only gathering steam towards the ending.
The Untouchables is of course, based on the classic television series starring Robert Stack. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards (Best Supporting Actor, Best Set Decoration, Best Costume Design and Best Score), winning only for Best Supporting Actor.
My rating: 2 and a half stars