Director: Wayne Kramer, US, 100min
Stars: William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello On general release
Bernie Lootz (Macy) is a man whose bad luck is so infectious that he is hired to “cool” casino gambling tables whose punters are on a hot streak. His none-too-benevolent employer and friend Shelly Kaplow (Baldwin) is a Las Vegas casino owner of the old school, who mixes genuine affection for the old Vegas with a psychotic attachment to power. With Bernie cooling the tables, Shelly is raking in the money. What could possibly go wrong? The answer comes in the form of Natalie (Bello), a cocktail waitress, with whom Bernie falls in love, turning his luck on its head. With Bernie happy, the casino starts to lose money, and as the competition closes in, Shelly needs Bernie to rediscover his losing streak.
This is a skilfully made, low-budget gem, and Kramer keeps the story perfectly balanced between realism and fantasy, inviting us to accept his patently ridiculous premise by grounding it in mundane reality. All three central characters are wonderfully played. Macy does losers like no one else, making his transformation into a winner a joy. Bello makes a complex lover and the former Hollywood charmer Baldwin is simply terrifying. The ending alone is worth the price of admission.
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Nigel Kendall