Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Casino'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Of the many genres out there that manage to captivate our imagination, there is one in particular that always manages to reel us in time and time again...the crime drama. Often times these films chronicle the rise and fall of men and women who break the law in magnificent fashion, and it begs the question, why do stories about criminals captivate us so?

The answer is surprisingly simple, outside of the entertainment value of the story, these tales serve as our chance to live vicariously in a different world. One where the rules simply do not apply to everyday life, where one can simply do whatever they want. We enjoy this alternate slice of life due to the fact we know the story ends as it often does in reality...with our character's fun coming to an end. But out of the many crime dramas out there, only a handful truly stand out above the rest, such as 1995's, Casino.

Sam 'Ace' Rothstein only picks winners. It doesn't matter who he bets on, he always comes out on top and his keen ability to know winners and losers has served him well. So well in fact, that on a consistent basis he has made a lot of money for the mob, and a decision has been made to send Sam out west to Las Vegas, to revolutionize gambling as the new unofficial head of the mob owned Tangiers Hotel and Casino. It is a dream come true for Sam, who quickly makes the joint one of the finest casinos on the planet, but nothing lasts forever and as love and his greedy best friend Nicky come into play, the paradise that Sam has found himself surrounded in, will quickly fall to pieces. 

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Martin Scorsese has made many a mob movie in his day, and I'll be damned if he doesn't make amazing ones as is, but I personally think Casino is his finest crime drama to date, and it stands above everything else he's done in that genre for several reasons. First and foremost, what better a topic to explore than the mob and Las Vegas? I mean that's the stuff of legend as it is right there, but Scorsese does it in grand fashion, creating an American Tragedy story that fully chronicles the rise and fall of an empire, giving the film an epic and grandiose feel I did not expect the first time I watched it.  

What truly brings the film to life however, are the wonderful characters that we are introduced to. Robert DeNiro is simply amazing as Sam Rothstein, a man truly consumed by the world of gambling to the point where it cripples him in real life. Everything must be perfect for him and while that works for him on many levels, outside of the casino walls he is an unreachable character, and while it seems as though perhaps that is Sam's own fault...it doesn't help that he also surrounds himself with some ugly people. Sharon Stone's portrayal of his wife Ginger is equally as incredible, for she is the complete foil of Sam. Loose, wild and without a care in the world she is nothing more than a status symbol for the man she married and she knows it. It leads to incredible drama between the two of them...but nothing tops the performance put in by Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro. Nicky is about as ruthless a mobster as they come and his loose cannon mentality leads to some of the film's most memorable and horrifying scenes. 

In the end, Casino is truly an American classic. One that chronicles the darker era of a city we now revere as a vacation mecca and one that shows criminals stripped down to what they truly are. Men and women who simply make different choices in life than we do, sometimes they get away with it, often times they don't, but we are reminded nicely of the fact that while their choices are different they still struggle to get by and they still go through hell like the rest of us and perhaps that is what makes this film so wonderful. Not only does the movie take us on an incredible journey...but the fact that everyone in this film is somewhat relatable allows for it to stand out above the rest.  

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