The Untouchables (1987) Review: Justice in the Shadows
The Untouchables (1987) movie poster. Source: Paramount Pictures. Used for review and commentary purposes. Some crime movies make corruption complicated. The Untouchables (1987) makes the basic conflict surprisingly simple: Eliot Ness wants to enforce the law, while Al Capone has enough power to make the law feel almost meaningless. What makes Brian De Palma's film interesting to me is what happens between those two positions. Ness begins with a clear belief in rules, but he enters a city where following the rules does not necessarily mean the rules will protect him. That tension gives the movie more weight than a straightforward cops-versus-gangsters story. Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Brian De Palma's visual direction, and Ennio Morricone's music all approach the same question from different angles: how do you fight people who refuse to play by the rules wit...