After the mega-hit Goodfellas put organized crime in the cultural mainstream, Casino brought it back again with a more personal story. Using a book by Nicholas Pileggi (who had full access to a mob boss who ran four casinos), Scorsese gives us a close-up look at how the Mafia controlled Vegas gambling, and how that control dissolved in a sea of lust, betrayal, and greed.
The script is a little uneven in parts and occasionally stalls in the middle. But it never gets boring. And at three hours, Casino doesn’t lag or feel too long. Scorsese keeps the pace brisk and taut, with a masterful eye for detail (the details of tacky 1970’s period decor, for example) that brings everything to life.
De Niro is perfect as usual, and Joe Pesci carries his part off brilliantly (better than in Goodfellas). But it’s Sharon Stone who steals the picture, playing Ginger McKenna as an obsessed femme fatale that even the most macho gangster would find hard to tame.
No other movie has captured so well how Las Vegas really is — not the shiny, overblown “wow” of weekend parties and opulence, but the darker side of money-laundering, betrayal, and destruction. A great film that should get more recognition than it does.
