LONDON:
Acclaimed actor Robert De Niro plays not one but two lead characters in the biographical crime drama The Alto Knights.
Based on true events, the film is set in 1950s New York, with the two-time Oscar winner portraying rival Italian-American mafia bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese.
At times adapting a documentary film-style approach, The Alto Knights recounts the old friends’ shared past, the events leading to their rift and a failed assassination attempt on Costello. Their power struggle plays out in tense scenes, some of which see Costello and Genovese clash face to face.
The film is directed by Rain Man, Good Morning, Vietnam and Wag the Dog filmmaker Barry Levinson and written by Nicholas Pileggi, known for Goodfellas and Casino. It is produced by De Niro’s long-time collaborator Irwin Winkler, and the actor said working with the trio convinced him to return to the mobster genre.
“I wasn’t planning on going back to it, but when Irwin Winkler sent me the script, I said ‘let me consider’,” De Niro said at the film’s London premiere on Thursday.
“When we were talking about who’d play the other part, they wanted me for Costello, he (Winkler) said ‘well, what about if you play the other part?’ I said ‘that’s an even better reason to do this, if I do it,” the 81-year-old actor added.
Winkler, 93, said he couldn’t think of anyone else better suited for the roles.
“We didn’t do it with any visual effects. It was all really makeup and just him,” Winkler said. “Even after seeing the film so many times, I see two different characters. I don’t see one man playing them.”
The Alto Knights also stars Will & Grace star Debra Messing as Costello’s wife Bobbie, while Shogun actor Cosmo Jarvis portrays gangster Vincent Gigante. The film begins its global cinematic rollout on March 19. Reuters
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