Casino (Movie Review)

Many movies have been set in Las Vegas, but few capture the actual history of Sin City like Casino. Martin Scorsese doesn’t hold back on violence, but he uses it to explain how the Mafia lost control of a city that was minting billions in profits. The torture, car bombings, and the death by overdose of Sharon Stone’s character are shocking, but they make sense in this context. They’re all things that actually happened to these characters’ real-life counterparts.

Casino’s greatest strength is its complexity of character and the performances of its leads. While Goodfellas leaned harder on slice of life aspects, Casino focuses on decision making, which gives greater tragedy to characters who meet their ends because of bad choices. This also makes the movie’s plot jumps less jarring because each event is directly related to a previous choice.

The film’s setting is an important differentiator from other mob dramas, and its focus on gambling allows Scorsese to experiment with cinematography. His choice of Sam’s accent is a little unsubtle, but it enables him to establish himself as a different kind of mobster than Henry Hill or Nicky. It’s his downfall that is more from trying to control too many loose threads than the result of any specific crime.

Underneath the flashing lights and free cocktails, casinos are built on a foundation of mathematics. Each game has a mathematical expectation of winning, and it’s very rare for a casino to lose money in one day. This virtual guarantee of profit is why casinos offer high bettors special inducements such as luxury hotel rooms, free spectacular entertainment, reduced-fare transportation and meals, and other perks.