Casino Jack

Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2012

George Hickenlooper’s (Hearts of Darkness; A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse) dramatization of the life and crimes of super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff is informative and entertaining. Informative because it gives us a glimpse into a lobbyist’s Washington, where everyone and everything has a price, and entertaining because it provides Kevin Spacey with a platform for a memorable, intense and not completely unsympathetic performance. Daring in its directness, in a wonderful Senate hearing scene, the film interweaves real images of inquisitors John McCain et al with filmed footage of Spacey. Dynamite.