Fascinating Cassavetes work has Ben Gazzara playing Cosmo Vitelli, a California night club owner who, after racking up a huge gambling debt, is given the opportunity to clear it by killing a Chinese bookie. Cassavetes's distinctive style allows for a raw emotional feel that couldn't have been captured by any other director, and, like A Woman Under the Influence, it puts the viewer directly into a very real world populated by very real characters. However, at points the film loses itself amid some of it's lengthy, nearly plotless sequences. Necessary viewing for Cassavetes fans  people looking for a straightforward story should look elsewhere. One of the truly unique creations of 1970s cinema.