Scorsese is working again with Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote GoodFellas based on his fascinating piece of journalism Wiseguy. Pileggi lets his subjects talk in their own voices, with little authorial intrusion, and both GoodFellas and Casino are densely journalistic. At one point he even provides subtitles translating the code phrases they use to foil the feds. People talk and talk about how Vegas works, and Scorsese's camera sprints to keep up. He's like an energetic tour guide making sure we understand everything.
Casino revolves around two hollow men.
He dresses flamboyantly, in a variety of dandyish pastels ranging from peach to pistachio, but under the suits he's perhaps the most unflamboyant man Scorsese has ever put on the screen. Nicky offers his services as Ace's unofficial muscle, and quickly gains a rep as a mercurial sociopath. But every director has an Achilles heel, and Scorsese's has always been women. He can see them only from the outside, and the third leg of Casino is weak. Ginger is the wild card, the untrustworthy junkie bitch who brings chaos into the boys' club.