Films That Witness Madness

review

GAMBLING CITY

GAMBLING CITY is one of Sergio Martino's best crime thrillers, a breezy, brutal little film set in the Italian underground gambling empire. It has the dramatic pull of a classical tragedy, something many films of this kind are lacking, but it marries it's pathos with some of the best action scenes of Martino's career. It is a film about gambling but it also a film about responsibility. Many Italian crime films are little more than celebrations of manliness and machismo, chock full of violent, compulsive males trying to exert total control over their chaotic worlds. GAMBLING CITY plays by those same rules only it seems to understand the consequences much better. That little difference alone makes GAMBLING CITY stand out. Italian crime films are rarely this mature.

Luca is a professional cheat. His talent lies in cards. One night, Luca's scheme brings him to the attention of The President - the wheelchair-bound roughie in charge of a very lucrative underground gambling casino in Milan - who immediately sees his moneymaking potential. Everything is going well for Luca until he spots Maria sitting at another table. He doesn't like the way her man is treating her. When Maria leaves in a huff, Luca follows. Despite being warned that she is the girlfriend of The President's temperamental son, Corrado, Luca gives chase. The two eventually hook up and fall in love. Unfortunately for everyone, Corrado isn't the type of guy who just moves on. He's also a brutal, callous man with eyes on inheriting his father's empire as soon as possible, even if it means bumping the old man off.

This is a spectacular film. I don't know how else to put it. Martino and his screenwriter, Ernesto Gastaldi, have created some of the more memorable characters in the Italian crime canon. Luca is every inch the gambler - cocky, self-assured, addicted to the risk more than the reward - but Martino and Gastaldi give him very flawed, very sentimental character traits. He ultimately comes off a romantic hero, a character worthy of our sympathies if not our loyalties. The performance by French actor Luc Merenda in the role is key to the success of the film. I was reminded a bit of Jean-Paul Belmondo's performance in Godard's BREATHLESS. Both performances are equally measured, turning two-bit crooks into heros through sheer charm and wit. Merenda's performance is possibly the finest of his career - or, at least, the best performance of his I've seen - and he manages to capture your attention every second he is on screen.

The rest of the film's characters suffer a bit in comparison. Maria is the standard "kept girl" you often see in these films, a woman willing to deal with abuse as long as it brings her riches. She is unhappy in her relationship but stuck there. In typical fashion, she falls for a man in trouble and risks herself time and time again for his love. Dayle Haddon's performance as Maria isn't nearly as charming as Merenda's but she manages to be effortlessly compelling simply because she is absolutely beautiful. In fact, we align ourselves so strongly with her precisely because she is beautiful. Women like Maria simply shouldn't be with brutes like Corrado.

Corrado, the film's main heavy, is a rather imposing figure, a man neither as charming or as smart as he thinks he is. He is constantly being told by his father, and later by his father's business partners, that violence doesn't cut it anymore. You have to be smart. You have to gain respect to get ahead, not demand it under threat of violence. At one point, Corrado has a police inspector murdered in the streets. He finds himself losing the support of the other casino bosses because of his rash action. His reaction, a mixture of rage and confusion, tells the whole story. This man is capable of nothing but violence and, having lost his girl and his business, he reacts in impotent rage.

Martino has made a nice looking film here. It isn't showy and it isn't flashy. It's simplicity is rather charming. The strangely upbeat theme music by Luciano Michelini wouldn't feel out of place in a 1940s or 1950s Hollywood movie - in terms of story, GAMBLING CITY is rather obviously inspired by Hollywood efforts like THE STING and THE HUSTLER - and the film feels like a light noir at times. The subject matter lends itself to brutality and the film does contains some rather rough scenes but it is not exploitative or sadistic. It might end on a depressing note but the ending is both necessary and satisfactory. When compared to the other Italian crime films out there - even in comparison to Martino's own excellent THE VIOLENT PROFESSIONALS - GAMBLING CITY stands out. It is a truly great piece of filmmaking and one of Martino's best.

Essential viewing.

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