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Movie Name: The Alto Knights
Directed by: Barry Levinson
Starring: Robert De Niro, Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis, Kathrine Narducci, Michael Rispoli
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Running Time: 116 Minutes
Release Date: March 21, 2025
Rating:
Languages: English
Production House: Winkler Films
Budget: $45 million
Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, a pair of Italian Americans who run two separate crime families in the mid-20th century. Genovese attempted to assassinate Costello in 1957, although Costello retired from the mob.
The Alto Knights: Movie Overview
The Alto Knights is an upcoming American biographical crime drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Nicholas Pileggi. The film stars Robert De Niro in a dual role as 1950s mob bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, with Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis, Kathrine Narducci, and Michael Rispoli in supporting roles.
The Alto Knights is scheduled to be released in the United States on March 21, 2025, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Vito Genovese and Frank Costello are Italian-American mob bosses, and Genovese orders a hit on Costello. Costello survives but is wounded in the attempt and ultimately decides to retire from the Mafia.
The film is currently scheduled to be released on March 21, 2025. It was originally scheduled to be released on February 2, 2024, taking over the original release date of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s Toto, and then on November 15, 2024. On October 24, 2023, Variety reported that, because of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, Warner Bros. was considering delaying the film’s release to 2025.
Movie Trailer:
Movie Review:
This gangster drama tries to impress with double De Niro but misses the mark
Story:
Childhood friends turned mobsters, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese become fierce enemies in 1950s New York. When Vito orders a hit on Frank, their feud sparks a brutal power struggle for control of the city’s mafia underworld.
Review:
‘The Alto Knights’ brings together some of Hollywood’s finest—Robert De Niro, director Barry Levinson, and writer Nicholas Pileggi—but the result is more mildly engaging than truly riveting. While De Niro’s legacy needs no introduction, Levinson is the man behind ‘Rain Man,’‘Bugsy,’ and ‘Good Morning, Vietnam,’ and Pileggi is best known as the writer of cult classics ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Casino.’ Despite this powerhouse trio, the film never quite finds its rhythm. It aspires to the weight and introspection of Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’ but remains emotionally distant. The biggest letdown is how underutilised the supporting cast is—the camera barely strays from De Niro, who plays both mob bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. There are moments of brilliance, and De Niro remains the undisputed king of gangster cinema, but the film never becomes more than the sum of its parts.
The plot draws from real-life events in 1950s America. When Vito Genovese (Robert De Niro) flees to Italy to avoid prosecution, he names Frank Costello (Robert De Niro) as acting boss of the mafia. With World War II delaying Vito’s return, Costello consolidates power and rules with authority. But once Vito is back in the US, tensions rise as he seeks to reclaim control. His hunger for dominance leads him to orchestrate a failed hit on Costello, forcing the ageing gangster to step away from the game and let Vito take over. But just when mob leaders from across the country convene to witness the formal power transfer, fate has other plans.
The film attempts to explore themes of loyalty, ego, and the unravelling of criminal empires. Levinson tries to dig into the psyche of these flawed men, but the effort feels half-hearted. Casting De Niro in both lead roles—while a bold move—often proves distracting, even confusing, and remains a decision that’s tough to justify. The film also seems uncertain about its identity—it struggles to decide whether it wants to be a biopic or a straightforward gangster drama and ends up falling somewhere in between without fully committing to either. The narrative unfolds in flashback, with Costello recounting events directly to the camera. Unfortunately, there’s little here to invest in emotionally; only a few standout scenes and flickers of vintage De Niro keep the film afloat.
De Niro still delivers when it counts. A quiet, tension-filled restaurant conversation between Costello and Vito, and the scene where Costello appears before Congress while Vito watches furiously sitting in a restaurant along with other mobsters, are both pure nostalgia. Vito’s character, in particular, carries echoes of Joe Pesci’s volatility from ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘The Irishman.’ Among the supporting cast, Debra Messing provides some grounding as Bobbie, Costello’s wife, while Kathrine Narducci leaves a strong impression as Anna, Vito’s sharp and fiery partner.
Ironically, it’s the more absurd moments that leave the strongest impact. What begins as a solemn gathering of mobsters for a peaceful transfer of power spirals into a chaotic police bust in the climax, turning unexpectedly theatrical and overblown. ‘The Alto Knights’ might have landed better a couple of decades ago, but in today’s cinematic landscape, it feels dated. Despite flashes of brilliance, the film struggles to justify itself.
