Movie Rental Review: The Untouchables

            I had heard quite a bit about this movie as well, but had never actually seen it yet. But that recently changed.

            This movie follows FBI agent Eliot Ness's struggles in attempting to incarcerate Al Capone and, in the process, bring down his gangster empire, back in the days of Prohibition. It gives a glimpse into an earlier version of Chicago , when the police were not as strong as the notorious gangster culture that seemed to control the city at that time, and had the run of the mill of the place. Corruption ran rampant, and penetrated deeply into the police force.

            The movie is entertaining, albeit with a bit overly idealistic depictions of the two opposites, Eliot Ness representing the good, and Al Capone the bad. Ness and his family are seen as virtually angelic, straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, while Capone is seen as some inhuman monster without a shred of human decency in him.

            Ness , played by Kevin Costner, feels lost in the complex world of widespread corruption and the illegal smuggling empire of Al Capone. At his lowest point after having been made a fool of and not taken seriously, he runs into a cop that strikes him not only as street smart and savvy, but also honest. This is Jim Malone, played by Sean Connery in the role that would earn Connery an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

            They begin the process of assembling a deadly team well equipped with guns and the proper arms, and that will fight fire with fire. This team will fight and aim to beat Capone and his gang at their own game. Throughout, Malone challenges Ness to be tougher, to follow through, to be absolutely determined in getting to Capone, and to stop at nothing in order to do so – even if that means outright breaking the laws that Ness has been sworn to uphold and protect. We find out that he truly believes that he should stay within the boundaries of the law, and the need to bend, if not outright break, these laws and rules at times troubles him, to the point that it is one of the running central conflicts throughout the movie. 

            Of course, there is a lot of blood and violence. But there are also human interest stories throughout, and that makes for a strong and effective movie, not at all typical of gangster type of films. When it came out in the movie theaters back in 1987, fully half of the audience was female, which is rare for such a gangster film like this. Maybe this is because of Kevin Costner or Sean Connery, but it might just be because there is enough story here to keep a female audience captive, and enough action to keep a male audience riveted.

            This movie comes recommended! You won't be sorry, even if it seems a bit too cliché, at times.