Bugsy

Composite Score: 83.97

Starring: Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna, Richard C. Sarafian, Bebe Neuwirth, Wendy Phillips, and Lewis Van Bergen

Director: Barry Levinson

Writer: James Toback

Genres: Biography, Crime, Drama, Romance

MPAA Rating: R for violence, language, and sensuality

Box Office: $49.11 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Bugsy is the biopic about the life of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, the New York gangster who was responsible for the creation of the Flamingo hotel and casino in Las Vegas and, by extension, the establishment of Las Vegas as the hub of gambling and entertainment that it is today. The film stars Warren Beatty in the titular role, supported by Annette Bening as his starlet lover, Virginia Hill, Harvey Keitel as his hired muscle out west, Mickey Cohen, Ben Kingsley as his own friend and mentor in the organized crime game, Meyer Lansky, and Joe Mantegna as his movie star friend who gets him an in in Hollywood, George. The film received ten Oscar nominations, including acting nominations for Beatty, Kingsley, and Keitel, Best Picture, Best Director for Barry Levinson, and two wins for Best Set Decoration and Best Costume Design. Its critical acclaim has helped mark it as one of the best biopics of the last thirty or so years and a solid gangster flick as well.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                Bugsy is a well-acted, well-directed, well-written, and well-produced film that doesn’t have a whole lot to say that you couldn’t already read on Bugsy Siegel’s Wikipedia page. Other than providing a fairly entertaining look at the life and impact of the gangster, I don’t really know what purpose this film serves (besides reminding us that Vegas was founded by organized crime). It is a technically good film with a story that doesn’t really have a whole lot of interesting bits beyond the facts, whose action is comparably tame for an organized crime film, and whose message seems to be either, “Build something that will outlast you, no matter what it takes,” or, “Don’t focus so much on creating something new that you lose sight of the money it costs to make it,” depending on how you take the film’s story. Neither of those messages are overly groundbreaking, and the second is incredibly problematic for so many different reasons. This is a fine watch that you could easily leave and never think about again.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                As I mentioned before, Bugsy is an incredibly well-made film, even if it doesn’t add a lot to the world in the way of discourse, but its true secret to success is the performance from Beatty and also from Bening in their roles as leading man and his lady. For whatever reason, the Academy opted not to nominate Bening for her performance, but I’ll be damned if she doesn’t nail her role as Siegel’s jealous and untrustworthy lover. From her first moment on screen, she steals the show and consistently proves herself as the only one able to hold their own (both in the story and in her performance) with Beatty’s volatile Bugsy. Her character helped make Siegel a success and her performance helped make Beatty a success. Without the sparks between the future couple, this film doesn’t have nearly the legs that it continues to have in the watchability department. Beatty builds off of Bening’s performance in his leading role and shines brighter than just about any other part that he has played. His put-together gangster that falls apart at the mention of his nickname and is driven by vision rather than greed keeps the audience on their toes as he fluctuates between flying off the handle in one scene and then struggling to ask his wife for a divorce in the next. He hits the dichotomy that the script lays out for the character on the nose, and it’s a joy to watch.

                Annette Bening and Warren Beatty play the romantic leads of Bugsy so well that the film’s excellence in production quality never feels wasted, allowing the film to solidify its place among the Greatest Films of All Time. Its straightforward retelling of the facts of Siegel’s life might leave a bit to be desired in the thematic department, but their chemistry and the fascinating story of the doomed founding of Las Vegas keeps you interested. This film is currently available to rent on most streaming services for those looking for a place to watch it.