First movie review written. Let’s start with something I am more familiar with. I really love thrillers, from Goodfellas to Aliens and anything in between. Martin Scorsese is one of the masters of the genre, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, the underappreciated Bringing Out The Dead, The Departed and so on. Most of them have been surrounded by accolades, but Casino have the most lukewarm reception of them all. Overshadowed by the masterfully crafted Goodfellas, Casino is now getting more and more praise as time marches on. Is Casino a forgotten masterpiece or just a cheap imitation of Goodfellas?
After Goodfellas’ success in 1990, Scorsese began to work on his new project, The Age of Innocence, a period romance, starring Daniel Day Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Wider. Looking back at it, although it isn’t bad, it sticks out like a sore thumb in his filmography, like Hugo after it, as it was so different when comparing to what Scorsese is known for, cruel crime thrillers or spiritual religious films. The film was not a financial success, though critics loved it, the audience did not. In 1994, a year after the release of The Age of Innocence ,his friend and the writer of Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family - the book which Goodfellas was based on, Nicholas Pileggi presents the story of the rise and fall of a mob-affiliated Casino runner Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal to Scorsese and suggest Scorsese to work together to adapt the story on the silver screen, Scorsese expressed interest, calling this an "idea of success, no limits." The production is on. Casino was released on November 22, 1995, to mostly positive critical reception, and was a worldwide box office success. Upon its release, the film received mostly positive reviews from critics, although their praise was more muted than it had been for the thematically similar Goodfellas, released only five years earlier, with some reviewers criticizing Scorsese for retreading familiar territory, especially after his prior work which is so different to what the director was known for. Sharon Stone got a Golden Globe win and Oscars Nomination for her performance in the film.
Casino is about the story of Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert De Niro), a smart bettor turned Casino Operator, who was sent by Teamsters and the Midwestern Mafia behind them to start the Tangiers Casino in Vegas as a moneyfront for them. Ace’s childhood friend, outspoken Gangster, Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), was also sent out west, to watch over both the casino and Ace. After running the Casino for a while, Ace fell in love with Hustler Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone) and married her. However, this move was a disaster. Ginger never forgot her relationship with her ex-boyfriend Lester Diamond (James Woods). While Sam’s personal lifes fell into turmoil, his professional one wasn’t safe either. Nicky with his showboating antics, established himself as a key figure of organized crime in Vegas and it came with extra legal attention. Ace’s relationship with him was under intense scrutiny, thus resulting in his bid to get a gaming license being denied. That was not the worst thing though, the pressure from both the mobsters back in the Midwest and the FBI got even more intense, and Ace’s life was thrown into all of this.
Let’s talk about the more technical aspect first. The editing is brilliant, being on the line of claustrophobic and calmness. The music is very Scorsese-ian, with heavy emphasis on period pieces. All of Scorsese’s staples are here. Long montages, narrations, slow motions, freeze frame. In a technical aspect, this is the most Scorsese, a Scorsese movie has been. The Acting is one of the best in a Scorsese Movie. There are no notable blemishes, like Cameron Diaz in Gangs of New York, everyone did a wonderful job. Robert De Niro was given a lot of narration and monologues and he nailed every one of them beautifully. As De Niro walks into the later stage of his career and his performances become more and more phoned in, Casino is one of the last reminders of the actor that he is. Joe Pesci’s performance is even better than his Oscar winning role in Goodfellas. He needs to present a much more complex performance here. Tommy is a rage machine, the man is non stop raging, can’t calm down whatsoever. Pesci is excellent in it yes, but his range is much larger here. He needs the rage when facing off against De Niro’s Ace, but he also needs to be the comforted rock when acting with Sharon Stone’s Ginger. I only see this range in two of Pesci’s performances, this one and The Irishman. Speaking of Sharon Stone, she delivered her career-best performance in Casino. Ginger is pretty unlikeable, however her portrayal makes viewers sympathize with her which is a very good job.
Many think Casino is a retread, but is it though? The answer is a firm no. Casino is much more than that. It is more similar to The Wolf of Wall Street in a weird way. Both with themes centralizing on greed, both feature white collar criminals who take advantage of people by abusing the system which people essentially bet their life savings on (gambling and stocks). Casino like all Casinos are about people who don't know when to stop, about those who don't know their limits, about those who make risky decisions and hoping one of them pays out, but like in a Casino, the house always wins. All of these characters are erratic decision makers, who don’t know when to stop. Ace marrying Ginger, firing Don Ward, who is associated with the members of gaming board, associating himself with Nicky, and after every decision blew up in his face, Ginger kidnapping their daughter and try to escape with her and Lester to Europe, Don Ward's brother-in-law, Clark County Commission chairman Pat Webb arranges for Ace’s license application to be revoked, Nicky’s high publicity, made Ace’s mob connection became crystal clear to the public, Ace’s chose to double down on them. Getting Ginger back from LA and still not taking back the key to his fortune in the bank, organising a TV show and numerous public tantrums to the Gaming Board about his rejection, not disassociating himself with Nicky. “In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose, and in the end, we get it all,” this is a quote from Ace. Vegas is a breedplace for greed and irrational greed only leads to one thing, downfall.
Casinos are palaces of lies, selling gamblers a better tomorrow which they will never give. People think they can win in the unforgiving world of Casinos, but the house always wins. It is built by the failed ambition of hundreds and hundreds of gamblers who think they are the next master who can crash the house. They can’t. Which is eerily similar to those who buy stocks and bonds, right? Jordan Belfort got rich by selling crap as gold, and Ace Rothstein got rich by selling people a possibility of getting gold. Which makes the final minutes more ironic, when Ace laments his time in Vegas, and states the new Casinos are run by people selling crap bonds, people like Jordan Belfort. It never changes, people willingly to be ripped off. People ripping others eventually will get ripped off themselves, in some sort of twisted justice, but they will be replaced by a different set of people doing the same thing. Casino and The Wolf of Wall Street are two talking points by Scorsese’s critics, who think he promotes heavy materialism in his films. They see De Niro’s 44 suits and the luxurious lifestyles of Jordan Belfort and Ace Rothstein and think people would want to be in their positions. These are the same people who think Goodfellas are essentially mob advertisements, encouraging youngsters to be a gangster. We all love Tommy Devito, Ace Rothstein and Jordan Belfort, but all of them end disgraced and even dead. Being a criminal has consequences, and Scorsese shows clearly, being a shady figure is not a desirable route of life. The paranoia, the guilt, the fear that comes with becoming such figures is clearly illustrated. No, rather than an endorsement of such behavior, Scorsese critiques it. The capitalism greed is clear in these works and Scorsese is not a fan of it. Greedy and materialistic ideals is a clear negative and Casino shows the downfall of such.
Religion is often a main theme of Scorsese’s films, so let's end this review with a quote from the Bible. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”1 Timothy 6:10. In this day and age where materialistic and selfish goals are often encouraged, Casino is an entertaining cautionary tale.
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