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The unluckiest
man in Vegas (William H. Macy) - a guy whose bad luck is contagious - is used
by the last of the old time mob run casinos to kill high rollers' action. That
is, until he falls in love with a cocktail waitress (Maria Bello) and gets
"lady luck," which throws the situation into reverse. Things turn nasty when
the casino director (Alec Baldwin) tries to break up the romance.
The
Cooler is Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy), and THE COOLER is a love story about
the changing fortunes of this down-at-heels loser who has made a career out of
spreading his virulent bad luck on the floor of Las Vegas' aging Shangri-La
casino. When Bernie falls for a gorgeous cocktail waitress (Maria Bello) his
bad luck is thrown into reverse.
"The Cooler" may sound as if it's a
dark sitcom, with broad characters and an easy payoff. But the movie, directed
by first-timer Wayne Kramer and written by him with Frank Hannah, has a strange
way of being broad and twisted at the same time, so that while we surf the
surface of the story, unexpected developments are stirring beneath. There's
more to the movie than at first it seems, and what happens to Bernie, Natalie
and Shelly has a rough but poignant justice.
This is one of Alec
Baldwin's best performances, as a character who contains vast contradictions.
He can be kind and brutal simultaneously; affection and cruelty are
handmaidens. |
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The story's strength is
all in the telling; no synopsis will prepare you for the emotional charge
that's eventually delivered. And it's unusual to find a screenplay that gives
weight to parallel stories; Shelly isn't simply an element in Bernie's life,
but is a free-standing character with a dilemma of his own.
There is a
crucial scene that takes place on the roof of the casino, and while it is
happening, I want you to watch the eyes of the two bodyguards who are standing
in the background. They're minor characters, and I don't have any idea what the
director told them to do, but what their eyes reflect feels like pain and
uneasiness, and it seems absolutely real. Not many movies have foregrounds that
can inspire backgrounds like that. |
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THE COOLER is a perceptive
look both at the gaming industry done Mafia style and the undercurrent of
sleaze that most visitors to the Disneyland-style hotel casino's of Vegas
probably never notice. The film contains brief scenes of violence not for the
overly squeamish, and sex scenes not for the overly prudish. But by the movie's
conclusion and its quirky twist of fortune, American audiences, which generally
favor the underdog, have in Lootz a new and unlikely hero.
ILots of
good performances. Noir and everything - 8/10 |
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| Director |
Wayne Kramer
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William H.
Macy |
Bernie
Lootz |
| Writing |
Frank Hannah
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Alec
Baldwin |
Shelly
Kaplow |
| Cinematography |
Jim
Whitaker |
Maria
Bello |
Natalie
Belisario |
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Paul
Sorvino |
Buddy
Stafford |
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