The Cooler

"When your life depends on losing... the last thing you need is lady luck."

2003 1h 41m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

78%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 402🍅78%Rotten Tomatoes●69Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 36,539

RomanceDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Bernie works at a Las Vegas casino, where he uses his innate ability to bring about misfortune in those around him to jinx gamblers into losing. His imposing boss, Shelly Kaplow, is happy with the arrangement. But Bernie finds unexpected happiness when he begins dating attractive waitress Natalie Belisario.

“When your life depends on losing... the last thing you need is lady luck.”

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Cast

William H. Macy
Bernie Lootz
Alec Baldwin
Shelly Kaplow
Maria Bello
Natalie Belisario
Shawn Hatosy
Mikey
Ron Livingston
Larry Sokolov
Paul Sorvino
Buddy Stafford
Estella Warren
Charlene
Arthur J. Nascarella
Nicky Fingers Bonnatto

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Wayne Kramer
Writers: Frank Hannah, Wayne Kramer, Wayne Kramer
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Wayne Kramer, shot by James Whitaker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mark Isham. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Arthur Coburn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin and Maria Bello carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When your life depends on losing... the last thing you need is lady luck.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Wayne Kramer directs. James Whitaker behind the camera. Mark Isham scores. Arthur Coburn cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 23 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Wayne Kramer, shot by James Whitaker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Mark Isham. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Arthur Coburn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin and Maria Bello carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "When your life depends on losing... the last thing you need is lady luck.".
9IMDB entry: tt0318374 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "hotel", "card game", "drug abuse", "casino".

The technical file

Cinematography: James Whitaker
Original score: Mark Isham
Editing: Arthur Coburn
Production design: Toby Corbett
Costume design: Kristin M. Burke
Makeup / hair: Carol Strong
VFX supervisor: Michael Adkisson
Sound: Jon Taylor
Stunt coordinator: Noon Orsatti
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,000,000
Box office: $10,400,000
Return: 260% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Cooler (2003)
Rotten Tomatoes: 78% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 69/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 36,539 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 9 wins & 26 nominations total

Also by

Wayne Kramer

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-02-21
★ 6/10
“Bernie” (William H. Macy) is the casino equivalent of “Eeyore”. He sits beside the gamblers and makes sure that his doom and gloom philosophy wears off on them and they lose cash. No, it doesn’t sound very scientific but his boss “Shelley” (Alec Baldwin) believes in it and as they cleared $32 millions there last year, well maybe he is right. This technique is one of a few, though, that are causing the gangster owners to begin to consider if maybe there needs to be changes and so now would not be a good time for “Bernie” to move on. Suddenly, he encounters “Natalie” (Maria Bello) to whom he immediately takes a shine and you can only imagine his shock when she reciprocates. Quickly, they begin to fall for each other but isn’t all of this just a little too convenient? Just to add to the confusion, son “Mikey” (Shawn Hatosy) shows up with his expectant girlfriend and clumsily has a go at fleecing the tables! With these storylines gradually knitting together we have to wonder if any of them have any chance of finding happiness or fulfilment. Macy is perfectly cast for this, with his innate hangdog expression and his conveying of a plausible sense of amazement when he manages to hook up with “Natalie”. The rest of it, though, is a bit predictable and the latter half increasingly peters out as nobody quite seems to know how they want this to end. When it does, there’s something straight out of Buster Keaton mixed with a dose of Martin Scorsese that I though a bit daft. It’s watchable enough, but Baldwin exudes all the menace of a meringue and I found it just a bit disappointing.

Production companies