The eye in the sky watches them all

Rating: Null/10 (10 December 2000)

Casino, is an ambitious project from Scorsese, but the backbone to this story is reinforced by exemplary performances from De Niro, Pesci and Stone. He then glosses their inner-relationships with magical camera work, and a soundtrack which captures the essence, and emotion of the era. Although, essentially a mob-drama, this film is about the relationships of the main players, and their relationship with the mechanics of the mob. What people think about the mob is that they go around killing people indiscriminately. However, the intrinsic reason is the money, they want to continue seeing the kickbacks, the green. I think De Niro gives an honest portrayal of a Casino boss who just wants things to run smoothly; the casino, his marriage to Ginger, and most importantly the machinations of the mob. He is outshone here though by both Stone and Pesci, who's captivating, repulsive characters, makes for a sympathetic viewpoint of De Niro's character. My only fault here is the ending, which in its entirety resolves the fates of the other characters, but with De Niro's it ends so matter-of-factly that it compromises the outcome of the film.
A veritable feast of film. 9/10 7/10 if you don't like swearing.