Easy’s Waltz

Directed by Nic Pizzolatto, Easy’s Waltz follows Vince Vaughn’s title character, an aging Vegas crooner, as he’s presented with a terrific new opportunity by a legendary promoter (Al Pacino) – with problems ensuing after Easy’s hot-headed brother (Simon Rex’s Sam) enters the scene. It’s familiar subject matter that is, for the most part, employed to better-than-average effect by Pizzolatto, as the filmmaker, armed with his own screenplay, delivers a solid character study that boasts, at its core, an absolutely terrific (and mesmerizing) performance by Vaughn – with the actor’s top-notch turn elevating the material on a recurring basis and, eventually, smoothing over the narrative’s sporadic bumps and lulls. (It’s clear, too, that Pizzolatto has elicited Pacino’s best work in an awfully long time.) And while it’s never terribly difficult to figure out where all this is going, Easy’s Waltz, which also benefits from its underlying tension stemming from Easy’s loose-cannon sibling, ultimately comes off as a solid first feature from a promising new filmmaker.

*** out of ****