Bugsy, based on the
book by Dean Jennings
Bugsy is an exhilarating motion picture.
The hero, based on the gangster Benjamin “Bugsy”
Siegel is fascinating, controversial and mesmerizing.
Evidently, this is in large part due to the
astonishing talent of Warren Beatty who gives a performance equal to the
classic one from:
It is difficult to assess how much of a liberty
the writers have taken with the real story of the “creator” of Las Vegas.
However, the result is fantastic.
Bugsy is interesting, amusing, outlandish,
endearing for most of the time, even if this is not the real image of a
mobster.
He arrives in Los Angeles to take care of some
business for him and his infamous partners in crime:
Meyer Lansky – portrayed by the Oscar nominated
for this role, Ben Kingsley, Charlie Luciano and other Mafia leaders
As he likes the atmosphere, the glamour, the
houses, he decides in what looks like a flash to stay.
Indeed, when passing in a car in front of one
of the mansions, Bugsy stops the vehicle and goes in.
He asks to see the owner, who is an acclaimed
opera singer, amazed at the way the visitor is moving around his home…
What about the hotel X, the gangster asks and
the host answers that Bugsy will enjoy it, since it is among the best…
It is not for me, it is for you and do not call
me Bugsy, nobody does…answers Benjamin Siegel and opens his bag.
He wants to know how much the house is worth
and when the answer is maybe 40,000, he offers 60,000.
Therefore, he moves in and starts arranging the
business side, which means showing bravery and extreme audacity.
When there is a robbery and he finds that his
partner has lied, claiming that $ 10,000 more had been stolen, the mobster
decides to collaborate with Mickey Cohen aka Harvey Keitel (also nominated for
an Oscar for this role).
Mickey is the man who stole the money, but
since he was better than the old lying partner was, he is named as the leader
of the operation.
At the center of the plot, we have Virginia
Hill, played by the real life wife of Warren Beatty, Annette Bening.
Bugsy becomes infatuated with Virginia and is very
violent to other men when they seem to insult or just disconsider her.
In one scene, he throws a young man through a
window, only to find that it was Virginia’s brother.
The relationship is very complicated and brutal,
the woman throwing various objects at the gangster.
When they travel to the desert casino where
they have a gambling place, Virginia drives the car away, leaving Bugsy and
Mickey Cohen in the middle of the sand dunes.
Benjamin Siegel is the founder of Las Vegas,
where he closes the existing dirty place and he builds a new casino and hotel.
However, this project could bring his downfall,
because running costs are way over the initial budget.
When he talks to his partners, the cost of the
investment is estimated at about one million dollars.
However, as the construction is stopped, plans are
changed and funds are stolen, the initial estimate rises.
Bugsy wants the pool to have sun all day long
and this is a sensible request, like the one that the piscine needs to be seen
from the casino.
Nevertheless, the increasing cost and the
prospect of losing money angers the Mafiosi and the result is dramatic.
Besides, they learn that about two million of
their dollars have been stashed away in a secret account in Switzerland.
Bugsy is a formidable, glorious motion picture.
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