Atlantic City is a 1980 FrenchCanadian romantic crime film directed by Louis Malle. Filmed in late 1979, it was released in France and Germany in 1980 and in the United States in 1981. The script was written by John Guare. It stars Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, Kate Reid, Robert Joy, Hollis McLaren, Michel Piccoli, and Al Waxman.
Sally Susan Sarandon is a young waitress in an Atlantic City casino who has dreams of becoming a blackjack dealer in Monte Carlo. Sallys estranged husband Dave Robert Joy returns to her one day with the intention of selling a large amount of cocaine that he had stolen in Philadelphia and meets Lou Burt Lancaster, an aging former gangster who lives in Sallys apartment building and runs numbers in poor areas of the city he also acts as a caretaker for Grace Kate Reid, an elderly invalid. Dave convinces Lou to sell the cocaine for him, but as Lou sells the first batch, Dave is attacked and killed by the mobsters from whom he had stolen the drugs.Lou is left with the remaining cocaine and continues to sell to impress Sally, whom he has long pined for, with money. Sally and Lou make love one day, but she returns to her apartment to find it trashed she has been tracked down by Daves killers, who beat her to find out if she has the drugs. They leave, but Lou laments not being able to protect her. Sally is fired from the casino when her late husbands criminal record is discovered. Lou sells the remainder of the cocaine, while both Sally and the mobsters discover Lous affiliation with Dave. The mobsters corner them one night, but are killed when Lou produces a gun and shoots them. He and Sally then steal their car and leave the city. That night, from a hotel outside Atlantic City, they watch the TV news reporting on the killing. A police sketch of the suspect is shown. It looks nothing like Lou. Lou is overjoyed with relief and pride. He confesses to Sally that this was the first time he had ever killed anyone. ........
Source: Wikipedia