At the outset of director-writer Richard Zelniker’s The Vortex, we learn that a fire at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas killed 87 people in 1980. As the opening titles roll, we see the casino filling with smoke, then cutting to a stand-up set by our protagonist, Pete Finnegan (Billy Gardell).
Pete is a gambling addict who is up to his neck in debt, most notably to an unpleasant mobster and potentially violent man named Jimmy (Christopher Titus). Pete is counting on winning at slots to make everyone whole, and he spends the bulk of his time playing them. Most of the action of the film is subsequently centered on Pete at the slot machine. Pete is a walking object lesson about the deadly consequences of relying on hope over experience. He keeps playing and losing.
“…Pete is a stand-up comic and gambling addict who is up to his neck in debt…”
His most constant companion is Jackie (Emily Alabi), an indigenous woman on the cleaning staff who keeps telling him he’s due to be lucky soon. Jackie hums native prayers and tells Pete the great spirit will look after him. He’s also friends (or more) with Shirin B (Azita Ghanizada), the show dancer wife of a lounge singer named Johnnie (Jeremy Luke). Characters move in and out of the slots room, orbiting around Pete’s personal hell, some as angels and others as demons. He watches other players win while his machine eats coins and shows no other signs of life, ignoring the fact that luck has never come his way. We know something terrible is coming in the casino fire, but Pete and his cast of characters only know a sense of impending existential dread.
Billy Gardell is a stand-up comic in real life, but is best known for his roles in Mike and Molly and Bob Hearts Abishola. He shines here in a darker mode, playing a man who keeps pushing his desperation down and running his games. Asdru Sierra’s smoky jazz soundtrack sets the tone perfectly with stand-up bass rhythms and muted trumpets. Booze, cigarettes, and unrealistic expectations define the boundaries of this synthetic universe.
The Vortex drops the viewer into a time and space where the hopes and dreams of regular people go to die, serving as a microcosmic allegory for all of life. Pete Finnegan is a lost soul on a vision quest, traversing a dark moment of his own design, hoping for that one big break. His real test of character would be winning. This film draws us in and keeps us guessing until the last moment.
"…draws us in and keeps us guessing until the last moment"
