Review of Atlantic City (1944) by Steven T — 15 Mar 2008

Louis Malle will not disappoint.

Unless it's a documentary on cars, but I can't give him sh*t for that. It was "revolutionary." Anyway, back to this movie.

Atlantic City really is interesting. It takes the position that people who act classy really are living a great lie and I'm not used to seeing that. I was expecting a little more formula to this movie and I was pleased to see that I didn't get that. I was genuinely surprised as certain parts of the movie, but not in the sense of "ooh, there's the trick" but, wow...that's really logical storytelling. What's odd about the movie is that it really is great and honest and, in a way, funny...despite not having funny parts. It, almost, in no ways is a comedy. Heck, the comedic parts really don't make it funny, but just add icing to a fairly optimistic movie.

Sure, there's a bit too much coincidence riding in this film. It's not like I haven't seen that in movies before. But it really does get the ball rolling on this movie and that's all that is really required. I have to mention now that I think Louis Malle really gets Americans. After seeing And the Pursuit of Happiness and God's Country, you see how he relates to Americans. This is the first time I've seen him direct Americans in a fictional portrayal, but he's got the sensibility dead on. There's a little bit of kitsch to middle America and he captures that perfectly. I noticed that he couldn't help having Susan Sarandon's part be in love with going to France, but you forgive these little passions. They make the movie richer and fuller.

Both Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon deliver stellar performances. I'm not a big fan of Sarandon, but she more than does her job in this piece. There's not much call for real acting chops in this movie, but that restraint can be a tough thing to sell in itself.

Finally, the score really does a good job of capturing the setting. Music defines characters extremely well in this movie. Just listening to what inspires the characters tells so much that Louis Malle really can just start his story without having too much exposition.