TIFF Review: Casino Jack

Kevin Spacey's new flick is like a Vanity Fair exposé, full of greed, corruption, and thugs that put the Sopranos to shame.

A Canadian film on the most American of subjects, Casino Jack runs like a story of corruption and greed pulled straight from a Vanity Fair exposé: Jack Abramoff was convicted of defrauding Native American tribes and corruption of public officials, nearly bringing down some of Washington’s most powerful men in the process. Casino Jack tells the tale of just how Abramoff ended up behind bars and the loathsome cast of characters that were along for the ride. Filled with racists, anti-Semites, and thugs that make the Soprano clan look tame, the corporate greed, frat-boy style boardroom antics, and personal excess (private jet to St. Andrew’s anyone?) put Wall Street to shame. And then the defrauding starts.

Kevin Spacey is a convincing Abramoff – or rather a convincing pompous fool. Opening the film with a monologue that drama students will be memorizing for years to come, Spacey captures a man who vacillates between extreme piety (his take on capitalism can be summarized as “conning for tzadakah” as he sets up schools and charities) to blatant self-promotion, buying five-star restaurants on K Street.

The supporting cast is impeccable, from Barry Pepper as Michael Scanlon (the Luke Sykwalker to Abramoff’s Yoda) all the way to Graham Greene, whose quiet rage and dignity embodies the pain of Abramoff and Scanlon’s defraudment of his tribe.

Casino Jack won’t change the art of filmmaking, but it’s a good yarn. The only downside to the movie is that it was all inspired by true events.