The gangster movie that changed Sean Connery’s career forever – NewsVideogames – Your most up-to-date news portal

It would be a disservice to limit the image of Sir sean Connery to simply being the star of seven James Bond films. While playing the iconic British Secret Service agent solidified his name as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, there’s a lot more to his acting prowess than having to repeatedly ask her to shake his drink, not stir it. Connery needed to leave behind the role that made him a star.y Brian DePalma‘s Chicago-as-Chicago-can The Untouchables era the pinnacle of his career resurgence.

The distinction can be made that There are two halves to Sean Connery’s acting career.. The first half established his immortal presence on screen, something that made everyone swoon. His machismo was off the charts and his soft personality captivated audiences and critics alike. Connery’s performance as Bond catapulted him into the stratosphere, but it was the same thing that drove him to seek fulfillment in other cinematic adventures. The truth is that the actor was already tired of playing the agent, and his disastrous experience in his last 007 film, Never say never againIt was quite an “Operation Mickey Mouse” according to the actor himself. It was a sign of the times.. It was necessary to reinvent himself and the opportunity came in the form of playing Jim Malone, an incorruptible police officer with sometimes questionable methods.

What is ‘The Untouchables’ about?

The Untouchables It was a perfect avenue for Sean Connery to explore a new dimension in his acting. The film traces the story of Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner) and his valiant efforts to subdue Al Capone (Robert de Niro) and his control of Chicago during the prohibition era. Ness runs into Jim Malone on a bridge, to which the latter offers his help in stopping Capone’s movements. Suggesting that they go to the police academy to find people who have not yet been corrupted, Malone and Ness recruit George Stone (Andy García) to the cause. They are later joined by Oscar Wallace (Carlos Martin Smith), and the four successfully rob a liquor store to the acclaim of the city. Then, the press calls them “The Untouchables.”

The group discovers that Capone has been unable to file a tax return for over four years and decides that it is within these limits that they can make a case against him. Unfortunately, the nickname the press has given them soon becomes just a label, as they begin to fall one by one. Oscar Wallace is murdered by Frank Nitti (Billy Drago) in the police department elevator while trying to escort one of Capone’s accountants who has been forced to testify. Next on the target list? Jim Malone.

Why is Sean Connery’s performance in ‘The Untouchables’ brilliant?

When Malone defends an intruder whom he arrogantly berates for trying to kill him with a knife, Nitti surprises him wielding a Thompson submachine gun. Malone is riddled with bullets, and it is in the subsequent events that Connery displays perhaps the best performance he has ever put on screen. Moving at a glacial pace, the wounded Malone desperately crawls toward his house. Each desperate pulls him to the ground reflects to the audience the unbearable pain that his character is enduring. Ness and Stone finally arrive, and the two are greeted by the horrifying sight of their companion, bloodied and barely breathing. More than the general picture, It’s the little things in the scene which transform it from a rudimentary death sequence to a full-fledged masterclass.

As Ness turns him over, Connery pushes his body off the ground for a brief second, just a brief second, as if suddenly given an electric shock only to fall back down weakened. It’s subtle, but very effective in conveying how close Jim Malone came to death. In his perpetual quest for justice, he struggles to reach an object to the left of him. Ness gives him a key by mistake, but he throws it away in despair. He once again gathers the little strength he has left to reach another object. It was a train schedule indicating where another of Capone’s accountants would be at a specific time. With all the enthusiasm in the remaining moments of his life, he asks Ness “What are you willing to do?”, as he takes his last breath before finally dying in the arms of his companion. It’s scary, emotional and very disturbing. It is also the moment when the film world recognized that Sean Connery was not just the actor known for being James Bond. Now it was Sean Connery the actor.and was ready to show everyone his revitalized theatrical spirit.

There was high critical praise for Connery’s performance. Roger Ebert mentions in his review of the film that Connery gave the best performance of the cast, and points out how his performance brings a humanizing factor to the narrative, perhaps even having an interesting existence outside of the legend of “The Untouchables.” He adds that whenever he appeared on screen, audiences believed that the Prohibition Era was filled with real people, rather than just caricatures. However, it was not without criticism. Empire magazine voted Connery’s performance as having the worst accent placed in a film, stating that he was barely able to hide his notable Scottish leaning as a Chicago native in the film. However, his first and only Academy Award was for The Untouchables, He talks a lot about his abilities, despite the atrocious accent.

‘The Untouchables’ sparked the second half of Sean Connery’s acting career

There is great meaning in Sean Connery’s portrayal of Jim Malone. Audiences, at least back then, were very accustomed to the image of Connery standing tall, regardless of the character he played. Malone gave them an idea of ​​how vulnerable and fragile he can be. He made people appreciate and love him in a different way and shed light on previously unexplored territory for him. While he was given a springboard in this direction when he was turned against type as a Franciscan friar in The name of the roseI was in The Untouchables who fully adhered to this new image.

This second wind gave us a host of films that show a more sensitive side to the Sean Connery myth, including Indiana Jones and the last crusade, The hunt for Red October, The rockand in particular, Seeking Forrester. It was his willingness to come up with something new, to be tangible as the film proposed, that revitalized his career, and audiences couldn’t be more grateful for it.

The Untouchables is available to rent on Prime Video in the US.

See on Amazon Prime