Review of The Cooler (2003) by Adam A — 12 Jul 2004

'The Cooler' is a stylish romance / drama with a supernatural twist.

Bernie ( William H. Macy ) is a 'cooler', he is cursed with such terrible bad luck, it actually rubs off on other people. It is for this 'talent' he is employed by casino boss Shelley ( Alec Baldwin ) He simply goes and stands by players in the casino who are on a roll, and his bad luck immediately brings their fortune crashing down.

All this changes however, when he meets Natalie ( Maria Bello ), a worker girl at the casino. The two plan to leave Vegas, Bernie having paid off some unspecified debts to Shelley, and are good to go, when the sudden arrival of Bernie's son, and his pregnant girlfriend add a twist to events thst leave them looking right back at Vegas.

The characters are the strongest point of the slickly directed movie, the script is bought to life perfectly by the cast, and the level of realism is upped also, by the warts and all views of the inner - workings of Shelley's casino, and Bernie and Nat's relationship. All the characters are well fleshed out, through either confessions of their background, or through sub plots. Such as Shelley's dedication to tradition, as he goes head to head with the property investors looking to revamp the Shangri - La, or his touching loyalty to his old friend, over the hill singer Buddy.

Vegas is viewed through a hazy light, with a jazzy score underpinning the the warm reds and rich golds of the Shangri - La, which provides a stark contrast to the suprisingly gritty brutality of the violent scenes, and the explicitness of the sex scenes.

The supernatural abilities of Bernie are relvant all the way throught the film, and add that extra element to make sure ' The Cooler' exceeds just being an excellent Vegas based drama.

The overall feel of the film, is a very uncompromising one, when Bernie's cooling, it's a downer, when it's upbeat, it's very upbeat, and when it wants to make you squirm, it'll have you squirming with your popcorn bucket over your head and your fingers in your ears.

I think I liked 'The Cooler' a bit more than the others I saw it with, however, I defy anyone to not be touched by loser Bernie, or debating whether Shelley's a really just a good guy, keeping on top of his buisness the way he knows how, or if the bad simply out - weighs that in his favour on the way out to the car.