Atlantic City (1980)
Directed by Louis Malle

Film Review

For his second English language film, Louis Malle returned to somewhat safer territory than his first.  Compared with the controversial Pretty Baby (1978), Atlantic City would appear to be a pretty unremarkable film, a fairly conventional mix of American crime thriller and romance.  Certainly, the film is one of Malle's most restrained works, showing little of the atmosphere or inspiration of his previous French language films.

What begins as a somewhat run-of-the-mill crime drama gradually evolves into an engaging romantic drama, spiced up with the occasional brilliant comic touch.  What sets Atlantic City part, and has made it something of a cult classic, is the way it gently turns the traditional gangster movie on its head, presenting its crooked central character as a vulnerable, tragically flawed human being rather than a glamorous hero or villain.   The crumbling, run-down location of Atlantic City serves as the perfect backdrop, providing a very powerful visual symbol of the decline of the film's central character Lou, a fading crook played brilliantly by Burt Lancaster (in one of his most memorable film roles).

As the old gambling halls are being pulled down to make way for new, legalised casinos, the city is experiencing a kind of rebirth.  In a similar way, the arrival of Sally and her drugs-pushing ex-husband into his life represents a kind of rebirth for Lou.  But, try as he might, Lou's new lease of life is illusory, and the experience only serves to remind him of his failed past and to, ultimately, put him back in his place.

Film enthusiasts will easily spot the references to class film noir - after all, Louis Malle was, like his French New Wave contemporaries François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, greatly influenced by the American B movies of the 1940s.  Whilst admittedly not as stylish as Louis Malle's first, and most celebrated, crime thriller, L'Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958), Atlantic City is stronger in its characterisation and cruel sense of irony.

Atlantic City received critical acclaim and was nominated for five Oscars (best actor, best actress, best director, best film and best original screenplay), although it won none.   It was to be Louis Malle's most successful film (grossing around 10 million dollars) and was a huge success in the United States.

Film Synopsis

Some years after her husband Dave ran off with her sister, Sally Matthews has settled in Atlantic City, where she earns a modest crust as a waitress at one of the city's many popular casinos.  Sally never expected to see her husband again, so when he turns up on her doorstep one day it is bound to be with a very special purpose in mind.  It turns out that Dave has acquired a large quantity of cocaine in Philadelphia and is keen to get rid of it as quickly as he can, for the highest price he can obtain.  In this he enlists the help of Sally's neighbour, a sixty-something named Lou who likes to pass himself off as a one-time gangster big shot. Having turned his back on a life of crime, Lou is now content in his retirement, caring for an elderly widow, Kate.

Dave has scarcely handed over the parcel of narcotics to Lou when the traffickers from whom he stole it catch up with him and kill him.  Lou has no difficulty finding a buying for the drugs and soon he is flush with cash.  Turning his back on his widow friend, he switches his attention to Sally and begins subjecting her to his irresistible charms.  Sally is grateful for Lou's kind attentions but she soon sees through her supposed benefactor when she is threatened by some thugs.  The latter turn out to be the very same hoodlums from whom Dave stole the cocaine in the first place, and they are determined to recover the drugs at any price.  Realising the danger he has got himself into, Lou hastily makes up his mind to flee with Sally to Florida.  Unfortunately, Sally has her own dreams and runs off with a large share of Lou's ill-gotten gains...