Bugsy (1991)

Directed by Barry Levinson. Starring Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Ben Kingsley, Harvey Keitel, Joe Mantegna, Elliott Gould, Wendy Phillips, Bebe Neuwirth, Lewis Van Bergen, Richard C. Sarafian, Bill Graham. [R]

Struck by a vision, gangster Ben “Don’t call him Bugsy” Siegel is inspired to build a large, glamorous casino in the backwater town of Las Vegas, which doesn’t go over well with his criminal partners after the budget balloons to six times what was approved. Kingsley is the “Mob’s Accountant” (Meyer Lansky), Keitel the tough-guy enforcer in Bugsy’s employ (Mickey Cohen), and Bening is the wannabe movie starlet who begins a torrid, tumultuous affair with Bugsy (Virginia Hill). Their chemistry is surprisingly tame (considering how they were getting along offscreen), but a lack of fire and urgency is the chief drawback of this otherwise first-rate crime epic—James Toback’s script rings of authenticity but it lacks the cohesion that would make the viewer truly care about the personalities and the consequences of their actions. Smoothly-crafted with impeccable sets and wardrobe (the art direction and costuming both won Oscars) and vivid photography from Allen Daviau; playing the temperamental Siegel, Beatty taps into an explosive ferocity that he’s never matched before or since, and Kingsley and Keitel both bring noteworthy personality quirks to their two very different types of dangerous mob men. Music by Ennio Morricone, and the “Act of Faith” suite echoes strongly of his melancholy “Four Friends” theme from The Untouchables.

81/100