Atlantic City (1981)

This film is about a woman working in Atlantic City, whose husband tries to sell the cocaine he found from some gangsters."Atlantic City" has a straight forward story, told linearly in a matter of fact manner. There is little left to the imagination. In addition, the characters are underdeveloped. Take Grace for an example, she could have been a fascinating character, but she is such a dispensable character that could have been deleted from the film. Lou's claims to be a big time gangster years ago is beyond comprehension either. As a result, I did not feel for the characters, I did not get engaged by the events in the film, and I found it rather plain and dull.As "Atlantic City" got five Oscar nominations, I had great hopes for it. I am left disappointed by it after watching it.

The story of an ageing two bit numbers runner and his unusual relationship with an ambitious waitress, trying to make it as a croupier, might not sound like the most exciting storyline, but I couldn't remember a moment in the film when I wasn't hooked. Malle's direction in showing the old and new, the past and the future, with Atlantic City as the backdrop (gambling had only been legalised in New Jersey in 1979) is beyond criticism. Lancaster and Sarandon represent all this from the character side and both give exception performances. The plot in many ways plays second fiddle to the character building, the relationship between the two protagonists and the numerous metaphors used throughout.Robert Joy has stolen a bag of cocaine from the mob and is soon on the run with his pregnant girlfriend (McLaren) and hides out at her sister's flat (Sarandon), who is also his ex-wife. He then by chance, meets Lancaster (who is also Sarandon's neighbour and is infatuated with her), who likes to make out he was a big time person, but is and always was a nothing! This leads to Lancaster helping out in what he hopes will make him a somebody at last before a completely new city he won't know is built and people who don't want to know him arrive.If you haven't seen this or heard much about it, please do so. It truly is one of those gems a film that is ageless and works on every level! One of the best films of the 1980's!

The New Jersey resort of the film's title is very much the main character in this colorful, original drama, set in a community looking toward the future but living in the past. Against a vivid backdrop of decaying splendor and shallow glamour the film gathers together several odd, unrelated characters in an unpredictable series of stories involving an aging petty gangster, an aspiring young casino croupier, two hippies on the run with a stolen roll of cocaine, and sundry other killers, dreamers, and fortune hunters. For lack of a better tag, and because both city and script are built around the magnetic lure of easy money, the film might be called a crime story, but the richness of John Guare's screenplay, filled as it is with broken dreams and rose colored memories (says a nostalgic Bert Lancaster, "You should've seen the Atlantic Ocean back then…") can't be pigeon-holed so lightly.

In his fourth Academy Award nominated role Burt Lancaster essays the role of Lou Pasco, low level numbers runner and guardian and service provider to Kate Reid, a former gangster's moll from the old days. As you might have reasonably guessed from the title role this all takes place in Atlantic City which in 1980 was undergoing a rebirth.The one time resort town was undergoing a face-lift when this film takes place. Legalized gambling was coming in and a lot of the old town was being torn down to make room for spanking new casinos. Burt's story parallels that of Susan Sarandon who is working in one of the hotel buffet lines and also going to school to learn to be a dealer when new casinos do finally open up. They live in adjoining buildings.But like the proverbial bad penny her husband Robert Joy shows up with a pregnant Holly McLaren. Joy has stolen a nice little package of heroin from the mob and he's looking to make a quick sale. He brings Lancaster into the deal, but manages to get himself killed in the process. That forces Lancaster and Sarandon into an alliance of convenience, but who would think at Burt's age and he was 76 when he made Atlantic City, he'd find love as well. Both Lancaster and Sarandon are so good as players they don't look foolish in the romance department.And after over 30 years in the lower levels of the underworld, Burt finally makes his bones. It's a surprise unto himself.Atlantic City was shot in Atlantic City, an Atlantic City we'll not see any more because it's now looking so different than what you're seeing in this film. Some interior stuff was shot in Montreal and the film wrapped on the last day of 1980 and released in 1981.Atlantic City got Oscar nominations for Lancaster and for Susan Sarandon and both ran up against On Golden Pond and lost to Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn. Director Louis Malle and the film itself were up as well, but lost to Warren Beatty for Reds and Chariots of Fire for Best Film. Chariots of Fire writer Colin Welland also beat writer John Guare for Best Original Screenplay. Five nominations, but not a winner for any of the categories.Still Atlantic City has become a minor classic and it did revive the career of Burt Lancaster somewhat. Lancaster was aging and he knew it. He transitioned nicely into character parts in his last productive decade as a result of Atlantic City.Not a bad reason for him to take this film assignment.