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Atmospheric direction and a couple of sterling star performances make Atlantic City, a unique and satisfying experience for the patient and discriminating film goer.
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The film takes place during a time of renaissance for the New Jersey gambling capital...a crumbling empire trying to scratch its way back to the forefront of tourism, populated with has-beens and wannabes trying to stay on the surface anyway they can. The film is a quiet character study of a has-been and a wanna be whose lives becomes intertwined.
Lou (Burt Lancaster) is a former mob enforcer who is now a small time numbers runner, a dead-end existence made worse by being trapped into a position as caretaker and part-time lover of a loudmouthed, alcoholic invalid named Grace (Kate Reid), resigned to his life and what it has become, despite his watching our heroine through his window on a regular basis.
Sally (Susan Sarandon) likes to slather her body in lemon juice in front of her kitchen window while listening to opera. Sally works at the buffet of a casino but is going to croupier school to become a dealer. A shady past with her husband (Robert Joy) had her unwillingly leaving Vegas to start a new life in Atlantic City and, oddly, it is Sally's husband, who brings these two sad and lonely people together.
Director Louis Malle really struck gold here, creating a somber and deliberate atmosphere as a canvas for these two richly complex characters, both crafted in serious shades of gray, to connect, even though there really is no earthly reason why they should. Despite the fact that the first time we meet the characters, Lou is peeping at Sally lemoning her body, for some reason it doesn't feel dirty and we are intrigued as to exactly how these two people are going to connect.
Lancaster received his final Oscar nomination for his rich performance as Lou and has a surprising chemistry with Sarandon, also Oscar-nominated for her vivid and flawed Sally, a woman who has been constantly dealt rotten deals in her life and keeps getting back up. It is the work of these two superb actors, some wonderful use of Atlantic City locations, and the stark cinematic eye of Louis Malle that make this film work.
The film takes place during a time of renaissance for the New Jersey gambling capital...a crumbling empire trying to scratch its way back to the forefront of tourism, populated with has-beens and wannabes trying to stay on the surface anyway they can. The film is a quiet character study of a has-been and a wanna be whose lives becomes intertwined.
Lou (Burt Lancaster) is a former mob enforcer who is now a small time numbers runner, a dead-end existence made worse by being trapped into a position as caretaker and part-time lover of a loudmouthed, alcoholic invalid named Grace (Kate Reid), resigned to his life and what it has become, despite his watching our heroine through his window on a regular basis.
Sally (Susan Sarandon) likes to slather her body in lemon juice in front of her kitchen window while listening to opera. Sally works at the buffet of a casino but is going to croupier school to become a dealer. A shady past with her husband (Robert Joy) had her unwillingly leaving Vegas to start a new life in Atlantic City and, oddly, it is Sally's husband, who brings these two sad and lonely people together.
Director Louis Malle really struck gold here, creating a somber and deliberate atmosphere as a canvas for these two richly complex characters, both crafted in serious shades of gray, to connect, even though there really is no earthly reason why they should. Despite the fact that the first time we meet the characters, Lou is peeping at Sally lemoning her body, for some reason it doesn't feel dirty and we are intrigued as to exactly how these two people are going to connect.
Lancaster received his final Oscar nomination for his rich performance as Lou and has a surprising chemistry with Sarandon, also Oscar-nominated for her vivid and flawed Sally, a woman who has been constantly dealt rotten deals in her life and keeps getting back up. It is the work of these two superb actors, some wonderful use of Atlantic City locations, and the stark cinematic eye of Louis Malle that make this film work.