The Alto Knights is a crime drama film that focuses on the real-life rivalry of two mob bosses in 1950s New York — Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. Barry Levinson directs the film while the film is scripted by Nicholas Pileggi, widely known as the writer of Goodfellas.
The film was released on March 21, 2025, by Warner Bros. Pictures and it stars Robert De Niro in dual roles along with Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis, and Kathrine Narducci. Here's the official synopsis, per IMDb:
Two of New York City's most notorious organized crime bosses vie for control of the city's streets. Once best friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals set them on a deadly collision course.
(The article contains spoilers about the film's plot and its ending)
What is the plot of The Alto Knights?
One of the protagonists in The Alto Knights is Vito Genovese. He is the head of the Genovese crime family in New York, and has a rift with rival mob boss, Frank Costello. Their rift intensifies after Vito orders a hit on Costello, and the latter survives. The film revolves around their attempts to outdo each other.
How does The Alto Knights end?
Towards the end of The Alto Knights, we see Frank Costello realizing that Vito Genovese won't let him live for longer. This happens after one of his close aides is killed at a barber shop. Later, the infamous Apalachin meeting is about to take place where several mob leaders, including Costello and Genovese, are scheduled to be present.
Many people believe that Costello tipped the authorities about the meeting which led to the arrest of Genovese. However, there is no clear proof of the same. In the film, Costello is unable to reach the meeting as he stops at multiple locations to look for shops and coffee. At the meeting, Genovese was supposed to assert his power. However, the cops reach the place and make multiple arrests. Nearly 20 of the mafia were arrested and slapped with different charges. In January 1959, all of them were found guilty including Vito.
The rift between Costello and Genovese began in 1937 when the latter wanted to take control of the organization. In 1946, Genovese came back for power but Costello refused to transfer the same to him . This was the source of their rivalry, which would last for years.
In an interview with Variety, the film's director Barry Levinson spoke about having De Niro play both the characters, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. He said:
"We’re talking about one of the great actors with a real challenge, where you’ve got two totally different people — they’re not like twins or something. And one is the volatile monster that you see, and the other is almost like a corporate mafioso character… quieter, more deliberate. So we talked about it, discussed it, refined it. He had an actor off camera that could really challenge him so that it’s a real conversation. In his camper at lunchtime, we would go over and tweak the lines over and over again, leading up to the scenes that [his two characters] would have together. So it was a really interesting process, but I’m used to it in a way because he really is a perfectionist in that regard."
What do you think of the ending of The Alto Knights? Let us know in the comment section.
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