Parents' Guide to Lansky

Not much different from the plethora of gangster movies that populated theaters in the 1990s, this drama gets by on Keitel's impressive performance, as well as on a handful of surprising story twists. The entire setup and layout of Lansky is old hat (in fact, Lansky's story was previously told in the 1994 movie ... Lansky), and scenes of gangsters violently intimidating people, struggling with eroding personal relationships, and putting the hurt on double-crossers are wearily familiar. The 1981 wraparound/interview sequences are likewise a creaky old device, but they're still where the movie comes to life. Keitel -- who's a veteran of this world, having played Mickey Cohen alongside Ben Kingsley's Meyer Lansky in 1991's Bugsy -- is thoroughly commanding as the older Lansky, both intimidating and magnetic.

Additionally, by giving Stone his own strengths and weaknesses, the scenes doubly resonate. When he's not talking to Lansky, Stone guiltily flirts with Maureen (Minka Kelly), a woman he spots lounging by the hotel pool; he quickly, innocently breaks all of Lansky's rules, generating a certain amount of tension. Coupled with earlier scenes of Lansky standing up to Nazis or refusing to rig the slot machines in his casinos, this makes Lansky seem almost surprisingly benevolent. Earlier gangster movies may have been romanticized cautionary tales, but Lansky actually includes elements that are, ironically, admirable.