One of the best films of the year so far is The Cooler, a gambling thriller set in Las Vegas that combines an enticing mix of intimacy, charm, menace and fate. It is also blessed with great dialogue and strong performances.

Alec Baldwin plays Shelly Kaplow, a casino boss, who comes from the old school. The Vegas strip has changed. Casinos are modernizing, but he wants to resist that change, to work in the only way he knows, so he keeps his establishment out of the clutches of city whizzkids and relies on coolers like Bernie (William H Macy) to hover next to any table where a punter is doing well to put a dampener on their run of luck. Coolers are people who have had such a bad run of luck in their lives, it rubs off on those who are enjoying good fortune and Shelly doesn't want too much good fortune to leave his club in the form of cash-in-pocket.

When Bernie meets the delectable Natalie (Maria Bello), a waitress, he begins to think his luck may be changing. She is working to a plan organised by Shelly, but the plan backfires when the two begin to fall for each other. Bernie has to remain having bad luck if Shelly is to survive.

Those who loved Macy in Fargo are going to be excited by the news that if anything, he gives an even better performance in The Cooler. Baldwin, too, is excellent, perfectly believable as Shelly, a sympathetic character who also exudes a terrifying sense of menace. Bello is equally good, giving a performance of selflessness, similar to Elizabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas, and Paul Sorvino has a touching cameo as a washed-up cabaret crooner, giving concerts to almost empty rooms.

Films that are particularly good seem never to put a foot wrong, either in terms of the story, dialogue and performances, and The Cooler falls into that category, leaving you rooting for its lead characters, but also feeling nostalgic for a sense of the past.

This is a great film that may leave you reflecting on what luck you've been dealt in life. Well worth it.