10 Recent Movies That Weren't What Anyone Expected

The moment that a new crime drama was announced starring Robert De Niro in two roles, the natural assumption was that he would be playing twin brothers, because why the hell wouldn't he be?

And so, aside from those familiar with the true story that inspired The Alto Knights, it was a shock to see De Niro playing two totally unrelated crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, who just so happen to look incredibly alike.

Now, director Barry Levinson was clearly trying to pull a "two characters are different sides of the same coin" gambit here, and the appeal for De Niro speaks for itself, to challenge himself with a wildly unconventional acting assignment.

But for the audience, does it add anything? 

Not really - beyond the mild amusement of watching De Niro argue with himself, it's more of a distraction than anything, and hiring one of the many hundreds of available, legendary actors to verbally spar with De Niro would've probably made for a better end product.