Theater Excursions: The Cooler
Starring William H. Macy, Maria Bello, and Alec Baldwin
Written by Frank Hannah and Wayne Kramer
Directed by Wayne Kramer
William H. Macy is on familiar ground in this film, playing a good-natured, likeable loser. He is employed by a casino in Las Vegas as a "cooler", who wanders the floor, looking for winners, and infects them with his own bad luck, just by hanging around. All until he begins an improbable romance with one of the waitresses at the casino, played by Maria Bello. Suddenly, his luck changes, and the people around him start to win. The sets up the central conflict of the film (though there are others) between Macy's character and the casino boss, played by Alec Baldwin.
One of the great strengths of the film is that it does create entirely separate conflicts. While it doesn't weave those conflicts together, per se, they do overlap and begin to influence each other in interesting ways. Shelly Kaplow, the casino boss, is resistant to change. He's been running the casino for sixteen years, and its becoming old-fashioned. His own boss is starting to agitate for major changes, including bringing in a young MBA-type (Ron Livingston) to modernize the place. The film devotes a good chunk of time to Shelly's business problems. This plot never fully connects with the main plot involving Bernie Lootz (Macy) and Natalie Belisario (Bello), but it establishes the context within which Shelly's actions throughout the film find meaning. It elevates Shelly from the simple role of villain to a character in his own right. I'm reminded, for some reason, of the film Confidence, where Dustin Hoffman (a far superior actor) utterly failed to give his character the level of depth with which Baldwin portrays Shelly. The script deserves much credit.
But the film is far from flawless. The script does contain a great many cliches, but the director (a first-timer, no less) is able to play them honestly in such a way that they don't interfere. The effect of Bernie's luck is a difficult concept to convey credibly. The film asks the audience to believe that Bernie's luck infects everything around him, for good or bad (depending, basically, on whether or not Bernie thinks of himself as a loser). This is a very dicey concept to put over on cynical, modern audiences. It drifts dangerously close to pure fantasy. But somehow the director is able to give it free and expansive reign without ever straying too far from plausibility. The only problem is the ultimate conclusion of the film, which works in terms of the premise, but somehow plays false. One small misstep is no capital crime, but the fact that it comes right at the end means that the film winds up taking a heavy hit from it.
The performances are strong all around. Even Estella Warren, who made such an inauspicious debut in Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, does well in a small role. But Alec Baldwin is a revelation. I've always liked Alec Baldwin, but he's rarely been very impressive on screen. But here, he shines. As effective as Macy's performance is, it's nothing we haven't seen before. Bello's part is underwritten (as most female roles tend to be), and she isn't able to give the character a great deal of nuance. But Baldwin's Shelly is a complicated man of contradiction, and also a magnetic screen presence. Without him, the film we be a quirky little curiosity. Baldwin gives the film a certain weight and credibility that it really needs. He doesn't exactly carry the film, but he lifts it onto a whole new level.
All in all, this is a very encouraging debut for director and co-writer Wayne Kramer. I'm going to keep my eye on him. He's responsible for the script and story of Renny Harlin's upcoming Mindhunters, with Val Kilmer (due out Friday), which is less than encouraging. But you never know... we could be witnessing the birth of a bright new career in film-making.
Days since quitting: 4
Total money saved: $20
Written by Frank Hannah and Wayne Kramer
Directed by Wayne Kramer
William H. Macy is on familiar ground in this film, playing a good-natured, likeable loser. He is employed by a casino in Las Vegas as a "cooler", who wanders the floor, looking for winners, and infects them with his own bad luck, just by hanging around. All until he begins an improbable romance with one of the waitresses at the casino, played by Maria Bello. Suddenly, his luck changes, and the people around him start to win. The sets up the central conflict of the film (though there are others) between Macy's character and the casino boss, played by Alec Baldwin.
One of the great strengths of the film is that it does create entirely separate conflicts. While it doesn't weave those conflicts together, per se, they do overlap and begin to influence each other in interesting ways. Shelly Kaplow, the casino boss, is resistant to change. He's been running the casino for sixteen years, and its becoming old-fashioned. His own boss is starting to agitate for major changes, including bringing in a young MBA-type (Ron Livingston) to modernize the place. The film devotes a good chunk of time to Shelly's business problems. This plot never fully connects with the main plot involving Bernie Lootz (Macy) and Natalie Belisario (Bello), but it establishes the context within which Shelly's actions throughout the film find meaning. It elevates Shelly from the simple role of villain to a character in his own right. I'm reminded, for some reason, of the film Confidence, where Dustin Hoffman (a far superior actor) utterly failed to give his character the level of depth with which Baldwin portrays Shelly. The script deserves much credit.
But the film is far from flawless. The script does contain a great many cliches, but the director (a first-timer, no less) is able to play them honestly in such a way that they don't interfere. The effect of Bernie's luck is a difficult concept to convey credibly. The film asks the audience to believe that Bernie's luck infects everything around him, for good or bad (depending, basically, on whether or not Bernie thinks of himself as a loser). This is a very dicey concept to put over on cynical, modern audiences. It drifts dangerously close to pure fantasy. But somehow the director is able to give it free and expansive reign without ever straying too far from plausibility. The only problem is the ultimate conclusion of the film, which works in terms of the premise, but somehow plays false. One small misstep is no capital crime, but the fact that it comes right at the end means that the film winds up taking a heavy hit from it.
The performances are strong all around. Even Estella Warren, who made such an inauspicious debut in Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, does well in a small role. But Alec Baldwin is a revelation. I've always liked Alec Baldwin, but he's rarely been very impressive on screen. But here, he shines. As effective as Macy's performance is, it's nothing we haven't seen before. Bello's part is underwritten (as most female roles tend to be), and she isn't able to give the character a great deal of nuance. But Baldwin's Shelly is a complicated man of contradiction, and also a magnetic screen presence. Without him, the film we be a quirky little curiosity. Baldwin gives the film a certain weight and credibility that it really needs. He doesn't exactly carry the film, but he lifts it onto a whole new level.
All in all, this is a very encouraging debut for director and co-writer Wayne Kramer. I'm going to keep my eye on him. He's responsible for the script and story of Renny Harlin's upcoming Mindhunters, with Val Kilmer (due out Friday), which is less than encouraging. But you never know... we could be witnessing the birth of a bright new career in film-making.
Days since quitting: 4
Total money saved: $20
posted by Drew at
12:46:00 AM
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