Aahana Swrup
Prime Video’s ‘The Pickup’ is an action-comedy film with intense heists and even more intense car chases. It follows the story of two security personnel, Russ and Travis, who are transporting valuable cargo aboard an armored truck. However, a wrench is thrown into their plans when Zoe, a mastermind robber, hijacks the transport and corners the duo into a dangerous situation. As it turns out, she has plans to rob a high-end casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, swiping millions of dollars in cash from right under their noses. With her crew newly compromised, she strong-arms Russ and Travis into doing her bidding, setting the unlikely pair for a chaotic misadventure. Thus, the Sorrento Casino, an establishment rich in wealth as well as personal history for one of the characters, becomes a crucial pitstop in their perilous journey. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Sorrento Casino is a Fictional Location That Informs Zoe’s Character Arc
‘The Pickup’ charts a fictitious tale, penned as a product of screenwriters Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider’s imagination, brought to the screen under Tim Story’s direction. Therefore, no biographical real-life inspirations have been incorporated in the creation of Russ and Travis’ on-screen adventures. This employment of fiction seems to extend even to the worldbuilding elements in the story. Thus, the Sorrento Casino, a key location in the narrative, remains confined within the film. In real life, fans may be able to find casinos and other resorts in the Italian city of Sorrento. The place, known for its scenic vistas of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius, as well as an overarching lively local culture, is a famous spot for holidays and vacations.
Nonetheless, the real-life city itself has no connection to the fictional establishment of Sorrento Casino, which is supposed to be situated in New Jersey’s Atlantic City. Although the resort city itself is home to plenty of bustling casinos, none exists with an identical title. Therefore, the place remains a work of fiction, created in service of the story. In the film, Sorrento Casino plays a role beyond being a lucrative target for a heist. Zoe’s character focuses on the establishment as her prey, specifically because it was the location of her father’s death. The robber’s father was a security guard at the casino. During a restaurant fire, the establishment’s underground vault activated its security systems, which automatically created a vacuum seal for the safety of the cash.
However, this faulty security system opened up space for multiple guards to die via asphyxiation. Zoe’s father managed to keep the gates of the vault open long enough to save the others, but ended up meeting his own demise in the process. Consequently, the young woman harbors sharp feelings of vengeance toward the Sorrento Casino, informing the latter’s place in the narrative. Since no similar incident seems to have unfolded in real life, attaching a security system to a guard’s death and an ensuing revenge-driven heist, Sorrento Casino retains its fictional tag.
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