Watching the Detectives: Kevin Costner is Eliot Ness in The Untouchables
Sometimes when a group of incredibly talented individuals join forces the end result can be less than the sum of its parts, but once in a while you get a film where everyone is performing at the top of their game. The Untouchables is just such a film.
Brian De Palma’s career had stalled after Scarface, with neither the Hitchcock-with-added-sex thriller Body Double nor mob comedy Wise Guys delivering the goods. With The Untouchables though he was back on form, his show stopping visual flourishes married to David Mamet’s intelligent script and compose- supreme Ennio Morricone’s score.
That he’s got a damn fine cast doesn’t do any harm either. Kevin Costner is a model of restraint as Ness, perhaps a little too much restraint, as he often seems coldly unemotional, but this was the film that propelled him onto the A list. Ness is a bit dull though, which invites those around him to steal the limelight.
Charles Martin Smith connects far better with the audience, with his accountant-to-shotgun-toting-treasury-agent transformation adding a touch of humour. Caught here between jobbing TV actor and stardom, Andy Garcia shows how he made the leap – the camera loves him and he loves the camera. He only gets two big moments, his characters introduction and his timely intervention at train station, but he makes the most of them, holding his own opposite an old pro like Sean Connery. He also gets a well written intro, which never hurts if you’re trying to make a name for yourself.
