CASINO (1995) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Director: Martin Scorsese Writers: Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese (based on the book "Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas by Nicholas Pileggi) Starring: Robert DeNiro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L.Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, John Bloom, Pasquale Cajano, Catherine Scorsese, Melissa Prophet, Bill Allison, Frankie Avalon, Steve Allen, Jerry Vale
Martin Scorsese has a knack for making a film fascinating from start to finish, while still presenting an interesting and brilliant take on something that's familiar and cliched. "After Hours" was a brilliant everything-bad-that-could-happen-happens film, "Cape Fear" was a fantastic stalker thriller, and "The Age of Innocence" put an ingenius twist on the costume drama, stripping it down to its bone. "Casino" is your brilliant Vegas flick, stripping that down to the bone, and exposing what makes its so alluring.
On first glance, this film resembles Scorsese's "Goodfellas." We have some of the same actors in the leads, a female who causes a rift, lots of swearing and graphic violence, a narration undertoned with a great soundtrack of oldies and rock tunes, a rise and fall structure, and a cameo from Marty's mom, Catherine (but she's in most of his films anyway). But this is purely superficial, and on closer examination, it's nothing like it.
While "Goodfellas" showed that the allure of the mafia was that you could basically get away with anything anytime you wanted, "Casino" shows that the allure of Vegas is because of the mafia. When you go there (though I've never been there), you get the feeling that you're living life on the edge, playing against the rules, and if you're caught cheating, you could easily be killed. Of course, it's not like that anymore, but "Casino" takes us back in time to the glory days of Vegas, when it was still run by the mafia.
It does this by telling us a little melodrama, which is something we've heard before, but is given a magnificent backdrop that it can affect. Our protagonist is Sam Rothstein (Robert DeNiro), a bone fide gambler who knows everything about it. He is chosen by the mafiasos who run Vegas from far away to run one of their biggest casinos: The Tangiers. For the first hour or so, we get an in-depth introduction to this world, which tells us all the inside material, and just engulfs us into it so we can feel the right way when it begins to collapse piece by piece. One of the best things about Scorsese is his attention to every single detail about the worlds he creates. I have a feeling if this guy ever did a documentary, it'd make millions.
But two people enter Sam's life, and begin to tear apart the foundation of Vegas: Sam's old tempermental bud, Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), not far from his Tommy character in "Goodfellas;" and Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone), a con artist/hooker who seduces Sam without much strain, but begins to selfishly tear it apart due to some of her weaknesses. Even though she ends up marrying Sam early in the film, she still has a sick devotion to her old pimp/friend, Lester Diamond (James Woods, at his sleaziest), who begins to spark some nerves in Sam.
While this plot is, yes, cliche-ridden, it is nevertheless fascinating, and works flawlessly with the backdrop. The mafia, after all, can get too greedy and selfish for their own good, and can self-destruct due to just one person's slip up or stupidity. Over the course of the three hour film, this is what happens, but the film makes us care for the characters and for what we have been shown as Vegas that it becomes devastating when it crumbles at the end.
This is the magic of Scorsese: to make a film which is so real that if anything happens to it, it has almost the same impact on the audience as it does to the characters on the screen. The film is never boring, and is never a film where you continually check your watch for the time. Scorsese is a master at seducing his audience into watching his world unfold, and even the first hour where very little action happens, it's probably the best time you'll have at the movies for a long time.
Every scene is carefully plotted out, and every shot is framed perfectly. As many people have once said, "You haven't seen 'Casino' till you've seen the Widescreen Version," and that's true. If you see his cropped pan-and-scan version, you're missing out on half the movie. You miss a lot of the great swooping camera work that Scorsese is famous for, and that's one of the best things about watching Scorsese. No other director has utlized the camera so well as he has.
The soundtrack, while not as great as the one for "Goodfellas," is nevertheless amazing, and enhances every scene it is used in. I particularly love his usage of vintage Stones songs, with whom he has an obvious affection for. But this time, he actually goes so far as to use Devo's remake of "Satisfaction," which plays throughout the ending (a note should be made that he also uses their signature hit, "Whip It"). My favorite scene in the movie, where two cheaters are caught and dealt with appropriately, is enhanced to perfect heights with a great Rod Stewart song (not sure of the name), which is accentuates every beat of the scene. Scorsese would also make a great music video director (though he did do Michael Jackson's "Bad").
The acting, as always, is amazing. DeNiro plays a more reserved character this time, seeming to be in perpetual deep thought, but always looking tough. Pesci is predictably awesome, even if his character is very reminiscent of the one in "Goodfellas," and even if he has trouble with nailing his accent (it's Bostonian, then Long Islandian, then Kentuckian...). And Sharon Stone, whom I thought would suck when compared to these two leads, is actually awesome. She hits the right note of her character, making her seductive and lovable, yet still possessing all her flaws. Her decent into madness is also very well done.
In the supporting cast, we have Don Rickles acting surprisingly reserved and controlled in the role of the manager of the Tangiers, Alan King also acting very reserved and controlled in the role of one of the chief of staff of the Tangiers, and Kevin Pollak...whew...also acting very reserved and controlled in the role of another chief of staff at the Tangiers. So Scorsese does have good control over his comedians in serious roles (not to mention, Dick Smothers is a hypocritical senator, and Joe Bob Briggs himself - as John Bloom: his real name? - plays a stupid hick working as the slot machine manager because his uncle is a town commissioner). And James Woods goes pretty wild with his role. No shock there.
Special note should be made to Frank Vincent, who has been in Scorsese's "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas" in smaller roles, and in both of them, was beaten up horrifically by Pesci's respective characters. In this one, he finally gets a bigger part, and also his revenge on Pesci...
Scorsese is the real king of the movie though. Like Tarantino, Woody Allen, and Kubrick, he attracts crowds just because of his name in the directing slot. His films are, for the most part, incredible masterpieces which astound and complex people for as long as they live after they've seen them. "Casino" has some flaws, but it is one of the most fascinating films he's ever made. While taking an interesting stance on the allure of Vegas, he also creates a film which is engrossing from start to finish, and not many directors can hold their audiences in their grip like he can.
MY RATING (out of 4): ****
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