Wednesday Minute
No. 64 | March 31, 2010

“City” Flickers

Our theme this week
Films named after U.S. cities

Featured this week (theme introduction)
Monday         —   San Francisco (1936)
Tuesday         —   Nashville (1975)

Atlantic City (1980)

The city
Incorporated:  1854
Claim to Fame:  Inspiration for the Monopoly board game; gambling Mecca of the East
Population:  36,000

The movie
Release Date:  1980
Director:  Louis Malle
Cast:  Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, Kate Reid
Oscar Summary:  5 nominations, no wins

Atlantic City was going through a transformation around the time of this film.  A seaside resort town going back to the 19th century, it had suffered a major decline during the postwar years.  Gambling was legalized during the ’70s in an effort to attract new visitors, and many of the old buildings were being demolished as new casinos were starting up.

Sally and Lou are neighbors living in an apartment building that’s slated for the wrecking ball.  Sally’s a newcomer to town, from Canada, fleeing her drug dealer husband, with ambitions to start over.  Lou’s an old-timer, an aging numbers runner with connections to the mob from decades past, yet a very dignified man with a fondness for white suits.  The leads are Susan Sarandon (a revelation) and Burt Lancaster (one of a kind), perhaps an unlikely pair for two people so involved with each another and potentially lovers.  They may be from worlds apart but they need each other, and there’s great tenderness between them.  One memorable scene has Sally going through her nightly ritual at the kitchen sink, rubbing lemon juice over her arms, shoulders, and breasts.  She does it to remove the smell of fish from her work as a waitress, though there is another way to look at it too.  Lou is watching through the window.  Later he tells her about it.  It’s a revealing look into their characters.

Atlantic City was directed by Louis Malle, who made terrific films both in his native France (Lacombe Lucien, Au Revoir les Enfants) and in America (My Dinner with Andre).  Atlantic City is a special film and ranks among his best.

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Atlantic City 
Trailer

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Quote of Note
“I said that I would see you because I had heard that you were a serious man, to be treated with respect.  But I must say no to you and let me give you my reasons.  It’s true I have a lot of friends in politics, but they wouldn’t be so friendly if they knew my business was drugs instead of gambling which they consider a harmless vice.  But drugs, that’s a dirty business.”
—Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), The Godfather (1972)

…58…59…60.