Customer Reviews

Mob Law [VHS]

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Perhaps there is an inherent conflict of interest in this review. I appear in this documentary and know the principal subject, Oscar Goodman, quite well. Yet, because of my intimacy with the film, an equal argument could be made that I am in a unique position of being able to judge just how accurately Wilmhurst captured Mayor Goodman and the City of the Living Elvis. "Mob Law" is a study of former Mob attorney and now Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman (filmed considerably prior to Goodman's election). The work examines his belief in vigorous criminal defense as an important constitutional safeguard, and sheds light on the world view of a few of his more colorful clients. Shot in traditional BBC style - the work's principal technical merit is the use made of light - the surprise comes in editing. I rather suspect Wilmhurst has studied Wong Kar-Wai in that regard. Has the work captured Las Vegas? Certainly, and with an insider's depth of understanding. Has it captured Goodman? Considering that Oscar is a character so complex that he played himself in Scorsese's "Casino," it cannot have been an easy task, but I believe Wilmhurst did a superb job. Does the work push the documentary envelope? I leave that for you to judge. If you are interested in a view of Las Vegas obtainable in no other fashion, then Mob Law succeeds admirably.

When accused of being a mob lawyer, Oscar was famous for saying "what mob?" This was often interpreted as implying that there was no "mob." It could also just as easily have been interpreted to mean "which mob?" Now, years later, his participation in Mob Law seems to answer both questions. It was a good video, and a must see for local Las Vegans. The music in the film was excellent. It brought an eery loneliness to the film, as well as a kind of an impending doom to the whole production. That is not to say that Mob Law was not also comical in places. I recommend it.