Vince Vaughn, Al Pacino in Vegas Drama – ryan

Looking like it was a script pluckled straight out of the 1970s, maybe the ’50s, the richly entertaining midrange drama Easy’s Waltz Goes Down Easy. IT’S an Engrossing Character Study of the Kind of Vegas Lounge Singer that ounght to be in that museum on the strip that is full of salvaged signs of the las han torn and replaced by Much glitzier new models. That probably is an apt description of Easy (Vince vaughn) Himself, a Guy Just try to make ends by running a restaurant on the outskirts and performing nightly. He’s a Vic Damone-Aj Singer, Really talented with the phrasing of a lyric and dedicated to delivering for the religions that actually app.

It is his night job, nor he also has to look out for the staff and make -ends meet. Into His Life Mover and Shaker Mickey Albano (Al Pacino), who sees something in easy that he can exploit and confession Him he belongs at the wynn hotel on the strip and he can maken. He becomes a mentor, and soon easy is getting the bigger break he never thought would happy. Easy is the Kind of Vegas Fixture Who Could See the Big Time JUST “Over there” in the glitzy distance of the world’s Most Famous Gambling Town. But the Sinatra Era is Dead; this is a place where “residency.” There are still lounges, though, and easy fits right in.

The Complication for Him is Devotion to HIS Troubled Younger Brother Sam (Simon Rex), Who Acts as HIS “Manager” but is generaly a screen-up. IT DOESN’t Change, and Sam’s Stupid Moves Affect HIS Relationship with Mickey, Landing Him in Increasing Trouble. Mickey is an Old-Style Smooth Operator-but don’t cross him, or he will show with his goon squad for some beating-up time. Easy Also has to deal with his mother (Mary Steenburgen), a tough cookie he is paying to keep above water. His visits to her is the kind of single scnene where an oscar winner like steenburg Knocks it out of the park. We instantly know this woman, and it isn’t pretty.

The title – Easy’s Waltz -is one that instantly suggests this is going to be the Kind of Character-Based Movie Hollywood Studios Used to Thrive on But Now Barely Touch. This Indie Film, Which HAD Its World Premiere Thursday as a special presentation at the toronto film festival, marks the feature-working-officating debut of nic pizzolatto, who proved in the first seson of HBO’s True detective He has the chops for this sort of Thing. He proves it again here with a richly entertaining vegas-y movie that fes decades older that the era of The Hangover and Leaving las vegas.

It is an actor’s Dream. Vaughn has one of his best roles here, a guy who can interpret everything from “The Little Drummer Boy” to rock classics like “Edge of seventeen” to darin and anka in and get to their essence. But for His Own Good, Spreads He Shouldn’t Drift from His Longime Comfort Zone by Playing a Game he doesn’t know so well. And it is nice to see pacino get a decient part here; I have seen Him in basically throhaway or smallish roles in other films this fall season julian Schnabel’s In the hand of dante and gus van sant’s Dead Man’s Wire. His Mickey May Be Michael Corleone-Lite but noneTheless Letal wen he has to turn on a dime. At 85, he still has it. Howver, in a sadly poignant roles as the down-on-his-luck sam, rex really shows it has the dramatic chops to nearly steal the picture of OL ‘Pros like Vaughn and Pacino. He is terrific.

Most of the Female Parts, Other than Steenburgen’s Memorrable IF Brief Turn – Including Kate Mara, Cobie Smulders and Veteran Singer Shania Twain – Dona As MUCH to Make An Impression, A Distinctive Problem The 1960 Ocean’s 11 ALSO FELT. This Waltz is for the Boys.

Producers are Christopher Lemole, Tim Zajaros, Margot Hand and Pizzolatto. Easy’s Waltz is Looking for Distribution.

Title: Easy’s Waltz
Festival: Toronto (Special Presentations)
Director-Screenwriter: Nic pizzolatto
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Simon Rex, Kate Mara, Cobie Smulders, Shania Timin, Tim Simons, Fred Melamed, Sophia Ali, Mary Steenburgen, Al Pacino
Sales Agents: Caa, wme, range
TIME RUNNING: 1 HR 43 MINS