Casino (Movie Review)

Beneath the glitter of flashing lights and free cocktails, casinos are built on a bedrock of mathematics, engineered to slowly bleed their patrons of cash. It isn’t impossible to beat a casino, but it takes patience, loss tolerance and discipline. For years mathematically inclined minds have tried to turn the tables on the house, using their knowledge of probability and game theory to exploit flaws in a system that is, in effect, rigged.

Scorsese shot in real casinos, dressing the extras in authentic 1970’s costumes and obscuring them with details of what was happening on the action. His use of violence – the beating of De Niro’s character, the death by overdose of Stone’s, and even the buried corpse of Joe Pesci’s – is not gratuitous or stylized. It is, rather, faithfully depicting the way organized crime ran Las Vegas in the ’70s.

Casino is the most realistic of all of Scorsese’s epic crime dramas. It lays bare the intricate web of corruption that centered in Las Vegas, with tendrils reaching into politicians, the Teamsters unions, Chicago mob, and Midwest mafia based out of Kansas City. It is also the most complicated story, with characters intertwined in a maze of greed and betrayal that leads to murder, suicide, extortion, and even a little bit of love. Despite all this, it is still a thrilling and entertaining film to watch. Just remember, before you step foot in a casino, set the amount of money you are willing to lose and stick with it.