Fascinating movie yet a bit too long

Rating: 9/10 (1 January 2009)

So I have to admit Martin Scorcese hasn't disappointed me yet. After having seen Taxi driver, Raging Bull(two of my favourites) and Goodfellas, I began to watch Casino expecting to be disappointed(because it can't surely be as good as the three I mentioned!). But it is quite impressive.
The basic plot line is about a man named Sam "Ace" Rothstein(Robert de niro) who is put in charge of managing a profitable casino, one of the biggest in Las Vegas.Nicky Santoro(Joe Pesci) is sent along with him to Las Vegas in order to protect him. Sharon Stone also stars as a woman named Ginger whom Sam later marries. The movie first details the intricacies of the casino business and the fake unlikeable nature of the people there. It then details the fall of Ace Rothstein and his buddies. I was quite surprised with the detailed description of the casino business. This is something that I had not expected(I had expected a straight forward gangster story and instead I get a fascinating portrayal of the casino business. I was enthralled by the working of the casinos(maybe sometime I have to travel to Las Vegas!). Any person interested in the gambling business and the crime network in US should watch this movie. It is interesting to watch the way these casino owners "skim the top of the profits" and masquerade it under the legitimate business banner. Another aspect that I liked about this movie is the totally unlikeable characters. Only Raging Bull(of scorcese movies) has this kind of a unlikeability and most people are likely to be turned off by that. I do agree it has shades of Goodfellas but I don't agree that it imitates that movie. There are many differences in the characters themselves. For example, the character of Nicky Santoro is quite different from Tommy of Goodfellas. Nicky is a cold, calculated person who doesn't mind doing the dirty work. But he isn't exactly egoistic or impulsive. He is mostly level headed. Sure he resorts to violence in the same way as Tommy but Tommy had different motives. Nicky is quite clever and not impulsive.
The performances are quite noteworthy. I was most impressed by Sharon stone's portrayal of the gold digger Ginger. It was a multifaceted performance that showed the different sides to Ginger in this movie(It is weird we don't see much of Sharon stone nowadays, she had so much promise). Ginger is not just greedy, she has a sensitive side, she has weaknesses, she is just human. She is not portrayed as any worse than the rest of the cast. Most of the time we don't sympathize with the main characters because they are so unlikeable. Robert De Niro's performance as Sam Rothstein is quite good and he excels in the scenes where he is totally clueless and exasperated as to how to handle his wife. His contrast to the cool and calm type of character in the first half of the movie is noticeable and that adds to the excellence of his performance. Joe Pesci(he is fast becoming one of my favourite actors) is quite exceptional in this. The scene where he confronts Ace is an example.
One of the things that may trouble viewers a bit is the complexity of the plot. There are many characters and incidents and sometimes people may not be able to keep track. But I loved the complexity aspect and it just reflects the amount of hard work put in by Martin scorcese and the crew.
So what is the negative aspect? It might be the length. It is too long(even for a Scorcese epic) and it might be a bit too much for some people who are not used to such long movies. I don't mind long movies but I feel the length could have been shortened. But I don't understand which can be removed as almost all scenes are central to the character development.
My rating 9/10(the length is somewhat of a problem)