MovieChat Forums > Atlantic City (1981) Discussion > Questionable morality?

Questionable morality?

posted 14 years ago by MrBigglesworth999
5 replies | jump to latest

I found it interesting that Lancaster sold hard drugs, technically murdered two guys, and gets away with it all!

Some may question the morality of this. IMO it simply highlights Lancaster's ability to get the viewer on side with his excellent portrayal of this sympathetic character.

[–] Tresix 14 years ago

Basically, in this world, everyone is a bad guy. Lou would be thought of as a "lesser evil". If you look at it, the two men Lou kills are in self-defense as well as to save Sally. Sally is probably the only really innocent person in this whole thing.

Yippee: "For king!"
Yappee: "For country!"
Yahooie: "And, most of all, for 10¢ an hour!"

[–] Pacer88 9 years ago

Sally's innocent until she takes the money at the end. Good for her. :)

[–] Kompressor_Fan 8 years ago

I'm glad none of the characters have sterling integrity. No black hats and white hats in this movie....it's all different shades of gray. It's part of what makes the story so good, and keeps you thinking afterward.

[–] redban (6552) 4 years ago

Sally isn’t innocent at the end. She is an accomplice. She drove off with a murderer, guides him to toss the gun. She spends a whole night with him without calling police. She took drug money and ran off to France, as a fugitive.

[–] redban (6552) 4 years ago

Lancaster technically murdered those 2 guys, but the movie drilled the point that those guys were pure evil. See the way they kill Dave, the way they mug Sally. Therefore, when Lou kills them, the audience isn’t supposed to feel for their deaths.