Review: Casino Jack

Kevin Spacey is fantastic as Jack Abramoff, a real-life American lobbyist who was sentenced to prison a few years ago for the role he played in a massive fraud case involving several Indian tribes who hired him to represent their gambling interests.  The casino scandals weren’t the only shady business Abramoff was involved in, and as the film unravels, more and more questionable dealings are uncovered between him and business partner Mike Scanlon (Barry Pepper, who’s come a long, long way since his humble beginnings on the Canadian TV show Madison, let me tell you).

When the film opens, we see the innocent (ha ha) beginnings of the duo’s downfall. Abramoff and Scanlon scam an Indian tribe into paying them millions for their help in ensuring that government will not approve the building of another casino in a neighbouring state. When a tribe elder (Graham Green) declines their initial offer, they hone in on a more malleable younger member of the tribal council (Eric Schweig) and the deal is sealed.

With the proceeds from this lucrative relationship, Abramoff and Scanlon go into offshore gambling and get into business with some Greek mobsters, which is when things really start to get messed up for them. Trading favours for political gain is, as it turns out, a tricky and dangerous business, and Washington insiders who help you while you’re helping them will drop you like a hot potato the moment you start attracting bad PR.

Casino Jack is a fun Hollywood exposé which moves at a fast clip and is stacked with enough powerhouse performances to keep it really entertaining. My only issue with it, since it was at least somewhat inspired by true events, is the affection (or deference) with which it portrays Abramoff. At each turn when his underhanded or downright illegal practices are uncovered, there’s always a scene of him talking about how he’s going to open a Hebrew school, or a touching moment with his children, or with his beautiful wife (Kelly Preston). It’s understandable that in building a multi-dimensional character, the filmmakers would not want to just vilify Abramoff. However, by refusing to ever really condemn him, the film ends up feeling like it’s making excuses for his most inexcusable actions by highlighting the fact that he was a good guy, otherwise. His good guy status when it comes to his wife and kids is kind of beside the point, no?

The film is a nice companion piece to the documentary that premiered at Hot Docs last year about the very same case, Casino Jack and the United States of Money. Watch them side by side and draw your own conclusions.

Related posts:

1. Review: Jack Goes Boating