The Untouchables, 1987

March 10, 2022 | RUBY RIVERA

The movie “The Untouchables” follows the story of Al Capone in the 1930’s, a well-known criminal who supplied alcohol during the Prohibition period and had nearly full control over Chicago. Eliot Ness, an agent who has been assigned to stop Capone, attempts to foil one of his plans but fails, due to policemen condoning Capone’s actions. These policemen who condone Capone’s actions of illegally smuggling alcohol are breaking the social contract of the time period. In this case, the social contract says: “You are not allowed to consume alcohol”.

Ness then meets with Jimmy Malone, an officer who is also against Capone’s rule, and they both plot to find someone from the police force who has not yet broken the social contract. They find a trainee, George Stone, and successfully carry through with a raid on a stash of alcohol Capone has kept. They now gain a positive traction in the community, being named “The Untouchables”. Their positive traction reminds me of John Rawls’s theory of justice, which was justice being seen as fairness. Them exercising justice on Al Capone is seen as fairness in the public’s eyes, as his actions are considered wrong due to him breaking the social contract of the Prohibition period.

Next, the team discovers that Al Capone has not filed his taxes for the past four years, and they see this as an opening to pull together a tax evasion case for him alongside the many other crimes he has committed. On the Canadian border, the team now is preparing to intercept a shipment of alcohol and raid Capone once again. They eventually kidnap one of his bookkeepers and coerce him into cooperating.

Many murders take place, and even two of the team are killed. Everyone being so against each other throughout this movie due to the dedication they have to the social contract, or lack thereof, reminds me of Hobbes’s theory that everyone was against everyone in the state of nature. Within the movie, there is constant distrust, and The Untouchables’s goal is not only justice, but eventual glory in the end when their name is the headline of every paper.

Ness ends up facing Capone, but misses him. Several moments of action and danger soon follow, as they are eventually betrayed by the police chief who rats them out. Malone’s apartment is then broken into, and he is eventually shot. Before dying, he reveals where one of Capone’s men is headed next, and they are off to capture him. Once they finally do, a trial takes place for Capone. We discover that several people in the courtroom are not following social contracts, either. For example, Nitti, one of Capone’s men, is permitted to carry a gun in the courtroom by the mayor. This also reminds me of Hobbes’s theory once again, where he believes that only contracts that are seen as benefiting everyone will be followed.

Throughout the movie, many people condone Capone’s actions of smuggling alcohol, and he is able to build an entire empire throughout the city of Chicago as a result. It was a battle throughout the entire movie to finally get him to face the consequences, and be punished for breaking the social contract, due to many people not agreeing with the Prohibition. Finally, in the end Capone is considered guilty, and Ness quits his job with the force right as there is talk of the prohibition being repealed.

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