Las Vegas doesn't seem like the best city for the unluckiest man in the world, but that's just where Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) makes his living.
He's what they call "a cooler."
Coolers are throwbacks to an older, classier Vegas, and Bernie is the last of a dying breed. The job of a cooler is simple - to cool down hot players at the casino.
Director Wayne Kramer tells the unique story of a man who can't keep his job in focus in "The Cooler," now in theaters.
When a patron at the Shangri-La Casino hits a streak of luck, all Bernie has to do is hand him a drink, run his fingers over the roulette wheel, or just give him a nod, and the house wins.
Macy plays the part of a lifetime loser to a T. He sports an awful haircut, ugly suits and a bad limp to create the perfect picture of the pathetic - albeit loveable - loser.
The man who keeps Bernie working in Vegas is Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin), owner of the last mob-run casino in Vegas, The Shangri-La.
Shelly is a cold-blooded tough guy who believes in using old-school tactics to enforce the rules of his casino. Whether it means breaking kneecaps or knocking somebody off, he'll do whatever it takes to keep his business running smoothly.
Baldwin's performance has nabbed him his first Oscar nomination for best supporting actor and it's well deserved. He renders an unsettling character who doesn't know where to draw the line.
Shelly and Bernie seem to have a solid business relationship, and a long history together, but it proves to mean little when lady luck disrupts the scene.
She comes in the form of cocktail waitress, Natalie Belisario (Maria Bello), and she brings Bernie a streak of luck he's never experienced.
As the two awkwardly matched Vegas losers fall in love - and Bernie finds his luck on an upswing - callous owner Shelly becomes determined to ensure the bad luck of his one and only cooler by keeping the two lovebirds from ever seeing each other again.
The mood of the film is at the same time dreary, uplifting, depressing and beautiful, due in large part to the cinematography of Jim Whitaker and original music by Mark Isham.
Whitaker captures the dark smoky corners of the Shangri-La floor and lounge in a film noir style.
The viewer can't help but feel depressed as he depicts the shadowy faces and gloomy eyes of the gamblers trapped in timeless depths of the ever-blinking casinos.
Isham's original jazz score sulks with saxophones in a way that conveys the atmosphere of a dying lounge act. The tone of the original tunes only helps to amplify the aura of a city where it's easy to get caught in the doldrums.
The question of the film becomes whether Vegas lifers Bernie and Natalie will be able to escape the clutch of the cursed city and the merciless Shelly.
In the end, writers Frank Hannah and Kramer weave a unique yarn, especially in the context of the numerous other films that have used the Las Vegas backdrop, such as "Casino" and "Ocean's Eleven."
With sublime performances from Macy, Baldwin and Bello complementing each other, odds are this film shouldn't be missed.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
