Just when we thought we were benumbed to further indignation over how all those greedy S.O.B.s got us into this mess, along comes "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" to tick us off all over again.
Lobbyist-turned-prison-lodger Jack Abramoff was looking like small fry amid the colossal avarice and corruption that came to light as the economy fell off a cliff. While we can't blame the recession on Abramoff, Alex Gibney's detailed documentary might make people wish they could.
The clutching, clawing venality "Casino Jack" exposes is infuriating, the arrogance of Abramoff and his cronies symbolic of the I'm-getting-mine-and-then-some recklessness that ruined the average guy's finances.
Like any good story, the film has surprises and thrills, laughs and absurdities, heroes and loads of villains. The story will leave you disturbed and disgusted, though, and a bit overwhelmed by the amount of information director Gibney packs in, his exhaustive portrait of Abramoff eventually becoming exhausting.
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You'll be a good sort of tired after watching "Casino Jack," which opens Friday at the Loft Cinema. It's the kind of tired you feel from acing an exam after a hard all-night cram session.
You can pat yourself on the back for sticking with a tough subject, and you even feel a little smarter. But you're glad it's over.
Gibney, whose films include "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" and Academy Award winner "Taxi to the Dark Side," spins another dense real-life drama about the abuses of power.
Through archival footage and interviews with disgraced congressmen Tom DeLay and Robert Ney and other former Abramoff associates, the film presents a detailed account of the man's rise to supreme Washington influence peddler, living the high life off the millions he charged Indian gaming interests and corporations.
It's heavy going, almost too much to absorb in places, but Gibney never lets his film bog down for long. The life of Abramoff is too rich in goofiness, so there's always a fresh chuckle coming.
Gibney met privately with Abramoff in prison, where he is doing time for wire fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion. But the filmmaker got no on-camera access, and that absence leaves a hole.
The filmmaker tells an authoritative story without an Abramoff confessional. Still, old footage of Abramoff and fresh impressions from his associates are no substitute for hearing Casino Jack's story from his own mouth.
Review
Casino Jack and the United States of Money
***
• Rated: R for some language.
• Director: Alex Gibney.
• Running time: 118 minutes.
