Casino Jack and the United States of Money (a review)
I’m not going to pretend I’m smart enough to express a coherent political opinion. I may have one, but I by no means want to pretend I have the knowledge to form and defend my stance on almost anything.
Being such, perhaps it’s best that in lieu of my own I use the words of former Chief of Staff to Congressman Bob Ney (R-Ohio), Neil Volz (one of the key talking heads from the film Casino Jack and the United States of Money). ”This is a story about human failure.”
Inter-splicing the film’s ending with footage from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and LL Cool J’s “Mr. Smith”, Oscar-nominated documentarian Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Taxi to the Dark Side) portrays many of the film’s interviewees as regretful for the part they played in the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal.
And truly this is a sad film. It’s not a morbid one, but it shows some of the stupid things that people will do for the perks made available through corruption. Gibney effectively traces the corruption from Abramoff’s lobbyist firm to numerous politicians and campaign contributors. He demonstrates the disregard Abramoff had for the consequences to his actions, and the enormous greed that ruled many persons’ decision making.
At nearly two hours long, the film requires an interest in the subject in order to sit through; however, the subject matter is important and Alex Gibney has proved repeatedly that he is a masterful filmmaker, able to include a bit of humor and not make the subject matter feel too heavy. Regardless of your political agenda, Casino Jack and the United States of Money serves as to chronicle a sad section in America’s political history. It brings humanity to an issue that is often looked at without a concern for humanity, and is able to both sympathize with and make villains of those who’ve participated in corruption. It’s one of 2010’s better documentaries, worthy of 4 out of 5 stars despite not making it onto the Academy’s shortlist for Best Documentary Feature…
