Atlantic City. Lou is a small ex-criminal in his 60s who now works practically as a butler for Grace, the widow of a deceased gangster. Lou is fascinated by his neighbor Sally, a waitress in an oyster bar. One day, Sally takes in her ex-husband Dave and her sister, Dave’s now wife. Dave found and took a bag of cocaine hidden in a phone booth, and is thus killed by the criminals looking for it. Dave gave cocaine to Lou, who now sells it, buys a fancy suit and takes Sally out for dinner. When the two criminals corner Lou and Sally, Lou shoots them. The couple flees in the car to a hotel. Sally leaves in order to work in a Casino in Monaco, while Lou returns to Atlantic City and starts a relationship with Grace.
"Atlantic City" has not aged that well, and is one of Louis Malle’s more overrated films. Nonetheless, it is a good and ambitious little drama, with a very 'European' feel and perspective on an American city in transition, including its often theme of a lower class trying to make something better out of their lives, whereas the constant scenes of building demolitions serve as a leitmotif for the ugly past that must be destroyed in order for these characters to find a new future in a new world. The highlights are definitely the two lead actors: both Burt Lancester and Susan Sarandon are great in their roles, delivering performances better than the film itself. The dialogues are often standard, though there are a few juicy exceptions, for instance in the snappy lines by the cranky Grace who at one point says this to Lou: "Cookie had more manhood in his toupee than you have in your fat frame!"
Unfortunately, the movie is at times awkwardly made, with several tacky or clumsy moments. For instance, a criminal is chasing Dave who stole his bag of cocaine, and then the criminal stabs and kills Dave—but then the criminal remembers he has to search for cocaine some more, because he had no common sense to ask Dave where he hid it before killing him. In another, a couple of kids are touching the antenna of a car with their hands, but then the camera pans to the left to reveal a man sitting in the car, turning around and smiling at them—there is no way any driver wouldn’t simply chase the kids away from his car, even if he is waiting for someone. Also, Lou and Sally have two parallel apartments, living side by side, and yet, since Lou is able to watch Sally from his window, her apartment should be on the opposite building of his. The finale is inconsistent and rather vague, since it is not clear what exactly Lou’s goal is: it seems he wants to take the money from selling cocaine and cherrish his last chance to make something out of his life, now in his old age. But what? The only difference is that Lou is wearing a fancy suit, while he acts the same even after that, and has no plan what to do. The film’s resolution thus feels fake and incomplete, even rushed, yet the nostalgic mood and Malle’s sure hand as a director give enough artistic weight to carry the film.
Grade:++
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