Bugsy | Warren Beatty, Annette Bening | excellent ganster movie

Bugsy | Warren Beatty, Annette Bening | This may be a case of `too much glamour, not enough heart'...

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Bugsy

	Bugsy Warren Beatty, Annette Bening Sony Pictures, 1999 average customer review:based on 39 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Bugsy represents an almost miraculous combination of director, writer, and star on a project that represents a career highlight for everyone involved. It's one of the best American gangster movies ever made--as good in its own way as any of the Godfather films--and it's impossible to imagine anyone better than Beatty in the movie's flashy title role. As notorious mobster and Las Vegas visionary "Bugsy" Siegel, Beatty is perfectly cast as a man whose dreams are greater than his ability to realize them--or at least, greater than his ability to stay alive while making those dreams come true. With a glamorous Hollywood mistress (Annette Bening) who shares Bugsy's dream while pursuing her own upwardly mobile agenda, Bugsy seems oblivious to threats when he begins to spend too much of the mob's money on the creation of the Flamingo casino. Meyer Lansky (Ben Kingsley) and Mickey Cohen (Harvey Keitel) will support Bugsy's wild ambition to a point, after which all bets are off, and Bugsy's life hangs in the balance. From the obvious chemistry of Beatty and Bening (who met and later married off-screen) to the sumptuous reproduction of 1940s Hollywood, every detail in this movie feels impeccably right. Beatty is simply mesmerizing as the man who invented Las Vegas but never saw it thrive, moving from infectious idealism to brutal violence in the blink of an eye. Director Barry Levinson is also in peak form here, guiding the stylish story with a subtle balance of admiration and horror; we can catch Bugsy's Vegas fever and root for the gangster's success, but we know he'll get what he deserves. We might wish that Bugsy had lived to see his dream turn into a booming oasis, but the movie doesn't suggest that we should shed any tears. --Jeff Shannon

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excellent ganster movie

This is a good period movie
about Bugsy and how he helped
put Las Vegas on the map. I
recommend it.

This may be a case of `too much glamour, not enough heart'...

There is a certain look about `Bugsy' that is entrancing. Even in moments when the film seemed to drag on or fall behind it was never anything less than engaging for the scenery and style alone spoke volumes. This is probably the greatest compliment I can hand the film, but it may also be the films biggest weakness. Ben `Bugsy' Siegel was a superficial man, and sadly, the movie bearing his nickname is at times equally superficial.

The film tells the story of how gangster Ben Siegel jump started life in Vegas. What was nothing more than a dusty city became a goldmine thanks to this man `crazy' vision of what it could become. Sadly, Bugsy never got to see his dream fulfilled, but the film allows us to see what started that dream and how he sabotaged his own success in the long run. When Bugsy gets a taste of the Hollywood glitz and glam he is soon sucked in completely and finds himself trying with all his might to hold onto something he had no business tampering with in the first place. He gets himself a starlit mistress, Virginia Hill, and he borrows millions from the mob in order to jumpstart what he feels will be the biggest break of his life.

The film tries to showcase all areas of the man's life, but in certain areas is fails to bring the heat. He has a steamy romance with Hill that is as choppy and inconsistent as they come, yet aside from some fights and tantrums the lovers are never really exposed to us as they truly were. There are moments within the film where our interest in what is going on may wane, for the construction of some scenes can be borderline tiresome. There are times where I wished that the script had been tightened a bit, allowing the action to flow a little more freely.

But that is a minor drawback when you consider the films many pluses.

The acting is all very, very well done. I was a little shocked that the Academy went overboard like they did with nominations, especially in the supporting actor category, since neither Keitel or especially Kingsley were nomination worthy in my opinion, but they were solid to say the least. They lent a nice balance of stern concern and humor to their performances, but they were overshadowed immensely by both Beatty and Bening (the latter of which was snubbed horrifically of a nomination). Yes, `Bugsy' is all about Beatty, and he devours this role with vigor and ferocity. He chomps at every scene with an underlying madness that creates a certain charm, like that of a well-off serial killer; alluring and dangerous, or maybe even he's alluring because he's dangerous. Bening matches his every step of the way with equal parts fascination and frustration, especially as their jaded romance grows. Both Bening and Beatty sink not only into their characters but also into the time period, which fits them like gloves.

`Bugsy' is not as good as `The Godfather' as some have said, but it is good. Barry Levinson knows how to draw out phenomenal performances from his cast, and he does that with everyone here. The backdrop plays like a character all its own and owns most of the film, giving us a beautiful stage for the characters to parade across. Sadly though, the film never really develops its characters as strongly as it could have, and while we get to experience what made Bugsy so famous we miss out on really understanding what made Bugsy tick.

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visionary gangster

As a gangster movie buff, I watched this film with pleasure and some interest. While the story is certainly compelling - Siegel is pursuing power and achievement more than money - there is nothing about it that stood out for me. Sure, he was the kind of leader who built empires, a brutal sociopath with a knack for seeking the glitziest things in life, from his women to business deals that involved movie stars. Then his vision paid off in Las Vegas, surely one of the most spectacular entertainment investments in history. But this film simply lacked some spark for me. Perhaps I am trying to find something as good as or better than Coppola's Godfather series, and this film did not reach that mark for me.

Recommended. It is good, if not quite great.

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