Atlantic City (1980) directed by Louis Malle
For as much gambling as I've done I've never been to Atlantic City, partly because it's across the country in the middle of nowhere New Jersey and also that everything I've ever heard about it makes it seem like a total shit hole. The HBO show Boardwalk Empire shows the city's glory days where buildings were brand new and classy gangsters roamed the streets, but nowadays the city seems to be a shell of its former self, often described as a city of steady decline and urban decay. This 1980 film, Atlantic City, is a perfect example of this theme as it is a story of broken dreams and disappointment in the heart of a dying city.
Much of the film is located in a derelict apartment building. Its walls are crumbling, the whites off colored, smudged with years of dirt and grime. An often repeated shot is of a sign on a crumbling building that reads of a development project in the works, again. But the dying city is really just a metaphor for the characters themselves. At the heart of the film are two characters, Burt Lancaster's Lou and Susan Sarandon's Sally, who find themselves stuck in their dreary lives. Lou is an aging numbers runner whose glory days are behind him, much like Atlantic City itself. He claims to have been a big time gangster in Las Vegas, even once a cellmate of Bugsy Siegel, but is now collecting quarter bets on the street. You get the sense that he was never the man that he claimed to be but also that he desperately needs to prove himself, not just to others but himself. He may not have been Bugsy Siegel, but given the opportunity he very may well have, at least that is what he tells himself. He finds his opportunity in his neighbor Sally. She is a much younger woman who works at an oyster bar. Her dream job is to be a blackjack dealer in Monte Carlo, away from this life in AC. She is separated from her husband who ran off with her younger sister and the two are expecting a child. They come to her for a place to stay and she doesn't have the heart or the nerve to tell them off.
In the very first scene of the film we see Lou peeking into Sally's kitchen window as she does her nightly ritual of washing off the fishy smell with freshly cut lemons in a slow seductive trance, yet it isn't necessarily the sensuality that turns Lou on to her. He sees a vulnerable young woman that he might impress with his stories. She may be the only person in AC who hasn't heard them. Like any odd couple, Sally and Lou are actually good matches for each other. Sally is in need of some help and Lou desperately wants to feel useful. In a twist of fate, Lou runs into Sally's husband who is in town to sell some stolen drugs. He enlists Lou's help in making an exchange when he is hunted down by the men who he stole the drugs from and killed. Suddenly Lou has a bunch of cash and drugs at his disposal and gets his chance to be the big shot he always dreamed he could be. He is finally able to talk to Sally and impresses her with his lavish lifestyle and worldly ways. So impressed with this older gentleman, she asks him to teach her about the world. You can hardly blame Lou though as every guy has been in his position, talking himself up, throwing around cash he doesn't really have, all in hopes of impressing the girl. Naturally, she finds out where he got the money from, as do the gangsters who want their drugs and/or cash equivalent. This is where Lou finally gets his chance to prove himself as a man, to protect the girl and stand up to the bad guys by being an even badder guy. The relationship with Sally is never really about romance or companionship for him, it is all about this moment of heroism.
SPOILER:
This is reflected in two key moments. The first is when Lou shoots the gangsters who are threatening him and Sally. It is the first time he's ever killed someone, perhaps even the first time he's fired a gun. How he reacts though is how we know he's never been who he says he was. He is far too excited. A real gangster handles his business without emotion and just does what he has to do. Lou admires the gangsters from his youth. Perhaps with this act of valor he may even think he belongs to be mentioned in the same breath as them but what really excites him is that he's proven himself as a man. This is why he places so much emphasis on the fact that he "protected" Sally, using that word over and over. It is also why he is so easily able to let Sally go in the end because he has fulfilled his dream in saving her. Perhaps he is saving her once more by letting her go, letting her live her own life.
END SPOILER
Atlantic City is a film about dreams and disappointment in life. Lou dreams of his past while Sally dreams of her future. In some ways this brings them together but is also the reason why they can never be together. At the center of their universe is the city itself, a representation of their fading expectations in life. This is a wonderful little film with characters that we grow to care about. We feel for Lou because he reminds us a little of ourselves. We always tell ourselves, "Tomorrow is another day," but those tomorrows add up and before we know it we are old men living in regret, wondering where our youth went.
Grade: A-
For as much gambling as I've done I've never been to Atlantic City, partly because it's across the country in the middle of nowhere New Jersey and also that everything I've ever heard about it makes it seem like a total shit hole. The HBO show Boardwalk Empire shows the city's glory days where buildings were brand new and classy gangsters roamed the streets, but nowadays the city seems to be a shell of its former self, often described as a city of steady decline and urban decay. This 1980 film, Atlantic City, is a perfect example of this theme as it is a story of broken dreams and disappointment in the heart of a dying city.
Much of the film is located in a derelict apartment building. Its walls are crumbling, the whites off colored, smudged with years of dirt and grime. An often repeated shot is of a sign on a crumbling building that reads of a development project in the works, again. But the dying city is really just a metaphor for the characters themselves. At the heart of the film are two characters, Burt Lancaster's Lou and Susan Sarandon's Sally, who find themselves stuck in their dreary lives. Lou is an aging numbers runner whose glory days are behind him, much like Atlantic City itself. He claims to have been a big time gangster in Las Vegas, even once a cellmate of Bugsy Siegel, but is now collecting quarter bets on the street. You get the sense that he was never the man that he claimed to be but also that he desperately needs to prove himself, not just to others but himself. He may not have been Bugsy Siegel, but given the opportunity he very may well have, at least that is what he tells himself. He finds his opportunity in his neighbor Sally. She is a much younger woman who works at an oyster bar. Her dream job is to be a blackjack dealer in Monte Carlo, away from this life in AC. She is separated from her husband who ran off with her younger sister and the two are expecting a child. They come to her for a place to stay and she doesn't have the heart or the nerve to tell them off.
In the very first scene of the film we see Lou peeking into Sally's kitchen window as she does her nightly ritual of washing off the fishy smell with freshly cut lemons in a slow seductive trance, yet it isn't necessarily the sensuality that turns Lou on to her. He sees a vulnerable young woman that he might impress with his stories. She may be the only person in AC who hasn't heard them. Like any odd couple, Sally and Lou are actually good matches for each other. Sally is in need of some help and Lou desperately wants to feel useful. In a twist of fate, Lou runs into Sally's husband who is in town to sell some stolen drugs. He enlists Lou's help in making an exchange when he is hunted down by the men who he stole the drugs from and killed. Suddenly Lou has a bunch of cash and drugs at his disposal and gets his chance to be the big shot he always dreamed he could be. He is finally able to talk to Sally and impresses her with his lavish lifestyle and worldly ways. So impressed with this older gentleman, she asks him to teach her about the world. You can hardly blame Lou though as every guy has been in his position, talking himself up, throwing around cash he doesn't really have, all in hopes of impressing the girl. Naturally, she finds out where he got the money from, as do the gangsters who want their drugs and/or cash equivalent. This is where Lou finally gets his chance to prove himself as a man, to protect the girl and stand up to the bad guys by being an even badder guy. The relationship with Sally is never really about romance or companionship for him, it is all about this moment of heroism.
SPOILER:
This is reflected in two key moments. The first is when Lou shoots the gangsters who are threatening him and Sally. It is the first time he's ever killed someone, perhaps even the first time he's fired a gun. How he reacts though is how we know he's never been who he says he was. He is far too excited. A real gangster handles his business without emotion and just does what he has to do. Lou admires the gangsters from his youth. Perhaps with this act of valor he may even think he belongs to be mentioned in the same breath as them but what really excites him is that he's proven himself as a man. This is why he places so much emphasis on the fact that he "protected" Sally, using that word over and over. It is also why he is so easily able to let Sally go in the end because he has fulfilled his dream in saving her. Perhaps he is saving her once more by letting her go, letting her live her own life.
END SPOILER
Atlantic City is a film about dreams and disappointment in life. Lou dreams of his past while Sally dreams of her future. In some ways this brings them together but is also the reason why they can never be together. At the center of their universe is the city itself, a representation of their fading expectations in life. This is a wonderful little film with characters that we grow to care about. We feel for Lou because he reminds us a little of ourselves. We always tell ourselves, "Tomorrow is another day," but those tomorrows add up and before we know it we are old men living in regret, wondering where our youth went.
Grade: A-
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