William H. Macy has made a career out of playing loveable losers – so much so that he vowed never to play another. So, you can imagine the kind of wooing that had to have taken place when Macy initially turned down the lead role in Wayne Kramer's smart casino drama The Cooler – a part that was written specifically for the weary-looking actor. Actually, I suspect that it took little more than a first read of Kramer & co-writer Frank Hannah's intelligent script to convince Macy to take the part.

       As finely crafted as the story is, it is the performances of the three leads that make The Cooler an exceptionally enjoyable film. Macy is fantastic as the sad-sack ‘cooler', Bernie, a man with bad luck so pervasive he has made a career out of spreading it around. Macy makes an excellent transition from loser to lover, filling his performance with little subtleties that reinforce the idea that Bernie is coming into his own. Maria Bello shines in the role of Natalie, the cocktail waitress with a secret who falls in love with Bernie and changes his luck. The romantic element between these two characters is sweet, poignant, and completely believable. Alec Baldwin delivers a career performance as Shelly, the old-school casino director reluctant to let go of a good thing who tries to come between Bernie and Natalie. Baldwin is at once menacing and endearing, fighting for the livelihood of his washed up lounge singer one moment and busting the kneecap of a casino cheat the next.

       The only interesting bonus feature on this disc is Sundance Channel's ‘Anatomy of a Scene', which breaks down the pivotal moment when Bernie realizes Natalie is in love with him and explains the costuming, acting, directing, cinematography, set design, and musical scoring decisions of the scene in detail.

The Cooler is a wonderful little modern-noir film built around a unique character device and the idea that love has the power to change anyone.