The story is simple. A working-class family living on the outskirts of Vegas comes in contact with a young man who used to live in their house, and who tells them that a famous haul from a casino heist-- believed to be lost for decades-- may be buried in their backyard.
Dad (Mark Greenfield) and son (Zach Thomas) are eager to give it a shot, but Mom (Nancy La Scala) has always tended carefully to the yard as a fairly clear symbol of her upward mobility, and isn't eager to start digging holes. But the temptations of easy money eventually work their powers on her as well, and before too long the carefully tended grass has turned into a series of dusty ditches, none of them turning up the promised treasure.
Director Amir Naderi's flair for depicting addiction, and his uncanny ability to weave that addiction through very specific topographies, amount to a highly poetic tragedy.
Amir Naderi started his international career in Iran in the 1970s with award-winning films such as Waiting and Requiem. In the 80s, he helped focus international attention on Iranian cinema with acclaimed works such as The Runner and Water, Wind, Dust. Based in New York City since the late ‘80s, Naderi has since made his New York Trilogy: Manhattan by Numbers (1993), A, B, C… Manhattan (1997), and Marathon (2002). Vegas : Based on a True Story (2008) is his fifth American feature.
The story is simple. A working-class family living on the outskirts of Vegas comes in contact with a young man who used to live in their house, and who tells them that a famous haul from a casino heist-- believed to be lost for decades-- may be buried in their backyard.
Dad (Mark Greenfield) and son (Zach Thomas) are eager to give it a shot, but Mom (Nancy La Scala) has always tended carefully to the yard as a fairly clear symbol of her upward mobility, and isn't eager to start digging holes. But the temptations of easy money eventually work their powers on her as well, and before too long the carefully tended grass has turned into a series of dusty ditches, none of them turning up the promised treasure.
Director Amir Naderi's flair for depicting addiction, and his uncanny ability to weave that addiction through very specific topographies, amount to a highly poetic tragedy.
Amir Naderi started his international career in Iran in the 1970s with award-winning films such as Waiting and Requiem. In the 80s, he helped focus international attention on Iranian cinema with acclaimed works such as The Runner and Water, Wind, Dust. Based in New York City since the late ‘80s, Naderi has since made his New York Trilogy: Manhattan by Numbers (1993), A, B, C… Manhattan (1997), and Marathon (2002). Vegas : Based on a True Story (2008) is his fifth American feature.
