The thing I 'liked' the most was Sam and Ginger's relationship

The audience's empathy is definitely on Sam's side, but it was deliberately made to be this way.

This movie is considered fictionalized history. Elements of actual events mixed with artistic license.

M Scorcsese needed Sam (based on Left Rosenthal) to be a sympathetic character to the audience.

The REAL character was a domineering man who beat his wife and tried to control evey aspect of her life.

This fits more in line with Sam/Lefty's personality. If the man is going to control how many blueberries are in each muffin, he his going to be the same in his relationships.

Maybe knowing this truth (I assume you're not a wife beater) might make watching this fine movie easier.

***As a side note, it has come to light that Sam/Lefty was a confidential informant for the FBI.

In the novel, Lefty told Pileggi about a moment, early in their relationship, when Geri (the real Ginger) was in bed with him. She was smiling at him and told him, "you've never been with anyone like me, have you?" He played dumb, acting like he didn't know what she meant, but she just kept smiling.

She knew her looks and, I suppose, her skills in bed were "next level," and her biggest selling point in a very literal sense.

Moreover, Lefty knew, going forward, that she would always have that power over him, i.e., the nagging feeling that she was the best he was ever going to get.

So yeah, no question Lefty, like Sam in the film, was domineering, abusive and controlling. But Geri, like Ginger in the film, knew how to manipulate him as well. She did the same with Tony Spilotro (Nicky in the film) seeking to set the two men against each other to earn her own freedom and fortune.

Seems, sometimes, that good looks at that level can actually mess up your life in more ways than it helps. Growing up in "Sin City" also probably doesn't help. And it also doesn't help to fall under the thrall of someone like Lenny Marmor (Lester Diamond in the film) so early in life.

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I thought it was the most important aspect of the film though most people dont talk about it.

It's hard to accept but Ace wasnt a good guy and sort of deserved to be punished. He ran a casino. Sin City. He looked down on most people and treated people like shit. He was in the mob and wouldve done just about anything to get ahead. He admired power more than good and in a strange way Ginger symbolised that power by race which he could never have. He wasnt a looker but his wife was so he liked the power it attracted. He didnt really love her. Could you say he did? When all he did was indulge in her every pleasure but never really cared nor understood who she really was and this made her hate him because he didn't try to get to know her or understand her. He couldnt get passed her appearance which was fake and he was so easily manipulated that she couldnt respect him. She knew his money wasnt really earned and he wasnt really a straight up guy and he just wanted her beauty and not her. So she found a way to destroy him and she sort of did. He spent a fortune and his youth on her. A whore and a pimp could never get along.