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CASINO
(1995) Starring: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe
Pesci, Don Rickles, James Woods, Kevin Pollack, Alan King Adapted from the novel by Nicholas Pileggi Nominated for one Academy Award: Best Actress: Sharon Stone Marking Scorsese and De Niro’s tenth
collaboration together (Scorsese hasn’t always directed De Niro, but has
served as producer in several films and even had an acting gig in one), the
two once again make a powerhouse film, which is adapted by Nicholas Pileggi’s
novel, which was based on a true story (GOODFELLAS was also based on
Pileggi’s novel, in which he also help adapt and for his efforts, received an
Oscar nomination alongside Scorsese). De Niro is cast perfectly as Sam ‘Ace’
Rothstein, a smooth talking professional gambler who, by the powers that be,
is positioned in Las Vegas to run a casino by his mob bosses to scam the
joint of millions upon millions of dollars. Referred to as GOODFELLAS
in Las Vegas, Scorsese and Pileggi have created one of the 90’s most
criminally underrated and complex portraits of a mans rise to power an
fortune, to his ultimate downfall due to the ones he loved and admired. When you love someone, you've got to trust
them. There's no other way. You've got to give them the key to everything
that's yours. Otherwise, what's the point? And, for a while I believed that's
the kind of love I had. The film starts off with a bang, literally, as
it opens in 1983 when Sam Rothstein calmly walks out of a restaurant, gets
into his car, put the key in the ignition and have the car explode into a
hellish array of flames. The film then flashes back to the story of Ace’s
rise to the top of his game, from small time gambler to a powerful casino
manager: Ace narrating: Before I ever ran a casino or
got myself blown up, Ace Rothstein was a hell of a handicapper, I can tell
you that. I was so good, that whenever I bet, I could change the odds for
every bookmaker in the country. I'm serious. I had it down so cold that I was
given paradise on earth. I was given one of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas
to run, the Tangiers . . . The first third of the film plays out like a
documentary, with Ace narrating just how the casino he runs, the Tangier. It
also shows his superiors making him the top man in Las Vegas to scam the
joint (a gaming license isn’t hard to get as explained by Andy Stone, since
all Ace has to do is apply for a license, which means that while he waits he
can still run a casino. And by any chance the Gaming Commission, which is
seriously backed up, comes across his application, all he would have to do is
change his position in the casino and continue running it). We’re introduced
to Ace’s longtime friend, Nicky Santoro (Pesci), who is ordered by the bosses
to look over Ace long before he ever ventured to Las Vegas. Nicky is a loyal
guy, and though his appearance may prove otherwise, he is lethal, lashing out
at anyone who rubs him the wrong way with brilliant fury. Ace quickly adapts to the life in Las Vegas and
to his responsibilities of the casino, and hires Billy Sherbert (Rickles), as
his personal manager. As Ace describes the city of bright lights and snazzy
signs: For guys like me, Las Vegas washes away your
sins. It's a morality car wash. It does for us what Lourdes does for
humpbacks and cripples. And, along with making us legit comes cash. Tons of
it. I mean, what do you think we're doing out here in the middle of the
desert? It's all this money. This is the end result of all the bright lights
and the comped trips, of all the champagne and free hotel suites, and all the
broads and all the booze. It's all been arranged just for us to get your
money. That's the truth about Las Vegas. We're the only winners. The players don't
stand a chance. And their cash flows from the tables to our boxes through the
cage and into the most sacred room in the casino the place where they add up
all the money the holy of holies the count room. However, love does not elude Ace as he falls
for big time con artist and hooker by the name of Ginger (Stone), who is
ripping off one of her male escorts in the casino the very first time we see
her. Ace gives her the world and more, buying her jewelry and dishing out the
cash left, right, and center. But though Ginger appears to be loyal to her
new man and the well-to-do lifestyle he introduces, she still can’t give up
her old boyfriend and former pimp, the sleazy Lester Diamond (great
performance by James Woods). Even marriage can’t get her to stop loving
Lester, even phoning him on her wedding day to Ace to tell him how much she
loves him. But Ace, a forgiving man a man of high tolerance, rides it out
that she still has a love for him. But he wrongfully believes that treating
her like a queen will changer her heart and force her to love him. Nicky makes the move to Vegas to make a
business for himself, with or without the approval of the bosses, which
always meet in the back of a grocery store in Detroit. But all the glamour of
Vegas begins to get to Nicky’s head, and he looks at Vegas as one huge money
pot for him to dip his fingers in and take whatever he wants. His activities
causes the heat to come down on Ace, who is already on the bad side of Vegas
Senator Webb, whose incompetent nephew worked for Ace until he screwed up one
to many times and was fired from the casino, despite Webb’s attempt to get
his dimwitted nephew back in the casino. By the end of the film, we flash back to the
opening sequence in which Ace car explodes which occurs. By this time, Vegas
have taken its tragic revenge on those who have tried to rape it by
exploiting and stealing from it, the most devastating victims Ginger and
Nicky. A city that had already been soaked in sin and despair, and in the
end, Ace sits alone and gazes ahead. He is the only one to survive Vegas and
it’s seduction of corruption unscathed. Has the story of redemption of the soul been
done before? Yes, which has of course been seen in Scorsese’s GOODFELLAS,
which the film has constantly been compared to. There are similarities in the
two stories, but each film possesses its own unique quality of storytelling
and execution. GOODFELLAS was a character portrait of a man’s rise to
the top of what he had always dreamed of being, and allowing those around him
to cause his own downfall from grace, while CASINO relied on the
deadly influence of the city Las Vegas, in which it symbolizes greed and
death to those are attempt to take advantage of it. Many have also argued
that Pesci is rehashing his GOODFELLAS character, but I once again
disagree. Again, similarities are apparent, but while his Tommy DeVito in GOODFELLAS
is a pure psychotic in every way, shape, and form, we understand Pesci’s
decent into madness in CASINO. When we first meet him, he’s a small
time crook who’s no different from those he works with. But once he reaches
Vegas, the temptation to risk everything and milk the town dry is chilling to
watch, as he would murder his lifelong friend just to secure what he has
spent blood and sweat building. A business in which there are no limits:
murder, betrayal, theft, insanity and desperation. He won’t stop, and
eventually becomes a victim of his own selfishness and determination to
obtain unlimited power, which drives him to his own demise. Scorsese’s direction is taut in every way, with
each and every single frame of the picture coming across like a beautiful
painting, always laced by the corruption of those who fill these beautifully
shot scenes. The city takes on a life all its own, and to be honest, there
aren’t that many shots of the city itself (there are many shots of the
casino, which to becomes a supporting character in which re recognize as
corruption). Scorsese even makes the desert surrounding Las Vegas a brutal
enemy, as De Niro narrates: At that time, Vegas was a place where
millions of suckers flew in every year on their own nickel, and left behind
about a billion dollars. But at night, you couldn't see the desert that
surrounds Las Vegas, but it's in the desert where lots of the town's problems
are solved. This beautifully foreshadows Ace and Nicky’s
fall from grace from each others loyalties, and the shots of the desert are
eerie, as the camera moves ferociously forward towards the desert, which is
basically an unmarked gravesite. The performances from everyone involved are
also extraordinary, with De Niro playing a man who finds redemption through
the elimination of those he cared for. Those who tried to outsmart a casino
and wound up paying the ultimate price. His performance is perhaps one if his
very best, and once again reminds us what makes him one of the greats. Stone,
by no means a talented actress, serves up the best performance of a lagging
career, whose only success remains BASIC INSTINCT. Her portrayal of
this doomed woman is terrifying to watch, as she digs her own grave with each
passing scene in which she lies and betrays everyone around her. Her
insecurity and self-hatred is sad to watch, and her mental and emotional
breakdown towards the end is both pathetic and hard to watch, as she is the
sole reason for her misery. She had the world in her hands, and threw it all
away without knowing it. CASINO may be familiar territory for
some, and it is, but it comes across as fresh and brilliant for me. The
wonderful cinematography, the stunning opening credits, the majestic score
which is laced with a tragic note, the horrific costume design which gives
the story an authentic feel, to the superb character development, I firmly
believe this film is one of the 90’s greatest, and criminally overlooked
films which has to compete with another classic film with GOODFELLAS,
which to me is totally unfair. I admire this film tremendously, and hope that
in the years to come, is able to stand its own without being judged in an
unjustifiable manner. It is one of Scorsese’s finest moments as a director
and storyteller. My Grade: A |