Bernie Lootz is one of the best coolers in the casino business and his boss, Vegas mobster Shelly Kaplow, knows it. Bernie's method of halting a punters lucky streak? All he has to do is get near them, because the secret to Bernie's success is that he's a loser of gargantuan proportions, everything he touches turns rotten, that is until he meets Natalie, a waitress that works in Kaplow's casino. Bernie is in love, but with this new found wellbeing Bernie's effectiveness as a cooler plummets, a problem that the ruthless Kaplow cannot afford to let continue. The Cooler is a beautifully realised film, a gangster flick, a thriller and at its darkly humorous heart a romantic drama. The performances are excellent, particularly Baldwin as Shelly, and though the film begins to stretch the bounds of credibility towards the end, its nonetheless an intelligent and richly plotted journey.