Best Actor 1981: Burt Lancaster in Atlantic City

Burt Lancaster received his fourth and final Oscar nomination for portraying small time crook Lou Pascal in Atlantic City.

Atlantic City is not much of a film in my view, it is poorly written poorly directed, and even poorly acted by some of the actors, although not all.

Burt Lancaster as Lou is in the more manic pool of Lancaster performances. I find he generally has too very distinct styles to roles, either the at least slightly wacky crazy man like in this film, and Elmer Gantry, or his more stiff spined style as in Birdman of Alcatraz and From Here Eternity. The wacky characterization is perhaps the trickier of the two because it can perhaps be gold or sometimes become a bit more unwieldy. Here I feel it turns out to be neither of these two extremes, but rather in the middle although leaning pretty far away from obnoxiousness.

Revisiting this performance after some time, I will say my overall view of the film hasn't changed much, in fact, I forgot just how bad Kate Reid and Robert Joy are as Sarandon's sister and estranged husband, but in terms of Lancaster's work, I suppose appropriately like fine wine, aged beautifully. Lancaster once again embraces his age as the ex notable thief of sorts as Lou Pascal. Lancaster brings a real exasperation as we see him being pushed around by his lady friend who he lives with, and there is real exhaustion that is a striking undercurrent within Lancaster's performance. Lancaster doesn't present Lou's past as a delusion, rather there is a real sense of the defeat of the man who never was able to make it to the big time. 

Lancaster though balances that exasperation with the sense that he still is Burt Lancaster, but he uses this very carefully. Lancaster delivers a more repressed charm essentially as the man who probably was at one time the slickest around. Lancaster still does convey that in the early scenes, but it is mixed in with that defeat. There is the occasional glint in his eyes, particularly when speaking about his more successful side, where Lancaster brings that tremendous charm that is within his repertoire. There is when we see the real strength of his presence which Lancaster very carefully wields in his performance, and does a great job by holding back, just as the man begins in this state of defeat as the old crook who never quite made it.

Where Lancaster most excels is his chemistry with Sarandon where they do strike up the right particular spark that helps to define the film. It isn't a simplistic idea and I think Lancaster is quite good in his way of balancing the intrigue Lou has for her with a more genuine sense of warmth in the help he is giving. Although Lou is clearly interested in her, Lancaster doesn't overplay the more lustful qualities, though he does make it a definite aspect of Lou's interest. He is just as earnest in the moment as Lou is trying to help her best he can. What is great is that Lancaster is very gradual in the way he breathes more life into Lou's tired frame through this relationship. This as he depicts this certain cunning of the old crook, and just ability of an older man using what knowledge he has to help this young woman. Where Lancaster's best moment comes in actually is the scene where he goes full gangster and kills the two men who had been after Sarandon's husband and have turned their intention to her. Lancaster is fantastic throughout the scene because he shows the old man, fearful at first. When he guns them down, his expression is initial of confusion and even surprise that he was able to perform this act at all. Then after the moment of realization, Lancaster is great in the jubilation of the man as though he's discovered something new about himself or discovered at least his old energy in a powerful way. In the following scenes, Lancaster is at his most vibrant, really his most powerful, as he can barely hold onto his excitement, wholly selling the moment where Lou implicates himself in the crime to random strangers with this kind of boyish smile backing up every moment of it. Lancaster creates this potent expression of the man finding this basic second wind and loses the exasperation finally, to discover seemingly the man back to his old powers. Although the flaws of the film are very present still, Lancaster is consistently striking in this portrait of an old crook finding his second chance.