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The passing of Prohibition Act in the United States brought about a golden era for gangsters—men like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Bugsy Segal, who built great criminal empires. Another one of those mobsters was Meyer Lansky, whose story of gambling, murder, and personal challenges is explored in the biopic Lansky.
Lansky follows struggling writer David Stone (Sam Worthington) as he travels to Miami at the request of notorious gangster Meyer Lansky (Harvey Keitel). Lansky knows that he doesn’t have long to live, so he decides that it’s time to tell his story. As the FBI continues to investigate him, putting pressure on Stone to offer up information on the hundreds of millions of dollars that Lansky reportedly has hidden away, he relates the stories of his life and career—of his business, his relationships, and the way that he reinvented organized crime.
As Stone and Lansky sit across the table from one another at Lansky’s favorite diner, the legendary mobster offers up his own kind of confession. He talks about learning to control dice games on the streets outside his New York City home. About his relationships with people like Ben “Bugsy” Segel (David Cade) and Charlie “Lucky” Luciano (Shane McRae). About Murder Inc. and building up casinos in Cuba. They’re all interesting snippets of stories—especially for anyone who’s interested in real-life mobster tales. But they merely seem to scratch the surface of the whole story. Lansky is a complex character—a loyal friend and shrewd businessman who had no problems with killing people who got in the way. But there’s really nothing here that will make audiences feel connected to him or his story.
Perhaps that’s partially because the film keeps pulling viewers out of Lansky’s story and back into David’s story. This down-and-out writer, his pleading phone calls with his estranged wife, and his run-ins with federal agents all feel unnecessary to the film—more of a distraction than an enhancement.
As this slow-boil gangster drama works its way through Lansky’s life, the alliances and conflicts do eventually build to something that’s more tense and captivating. But, even then, while it makes for an interesting biography, it just isn’t as gripping as it set out to be.
In nearly 50 years in organized crime, Meyer Lansky was involved with a number of notorious figures and numerous business deals. And in trying to cover all of it in a short amount of time, Lansky ends up revealing very little.
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