Rich man’s The Man with The Golden Arm: Both films have elements of addiction and how an addict’s relationships are affected by their lifestyle. Rounders is definitely slicker and more fun.
★★★★★
Damn it, Josh has really hit it out of the park the last couple of weeks. T2 kicked ass. I watched Ex Machina on his recommendation (check it out, especially if you’re a sci-fi fan). And Rounders was as much fun as I’ve had watching someone gamble since Casino Royale (see my post on Kingsman for more details on that).
Rounders is a film about “professional” gamblers. The first act of the film is an introduction to the world of professional gambling, while the second and third act follow our main characters and their attempts to win enough money to pay off a gambling debt to the mob. The plot isn’t super important; the movie is definitely driven forward by the characters. Pretty much all of the characters you meet don’t really hold down regular jobs. They work in underground casinos playing poker and other card games. Also, somehow, every character is played by an amazing actor. We’ve got Matt Damon in the lead role, Mike McDermott. Edward Norton plays his scammer friend nicknamed Worm. We’ve also got Martin Landau, John Turturro, and John Malkovich. Plus, a bunch of character actors that you’ll recognize as “that guy from the thing”. My two favorites are Michael Rispoli and David Zayas. Overall, everyone plays their part. The card sharks look and feel like card sharks. They’re all dressed a little shabby, wearing something a little too loud, and when the cards are being dealt you can tell they’re all thinking about their next play.
This goes doubly so for Edward Norton and Matt Damon. Norton’s character, Worm, oozes sleazeball. If he wasn’t dealing cards, he’d be upselling you on a used car that was only driven on Sundays by a little old lady. He’s basically a taller Danny DeVito from Matilda. On the other hand, Matt Damon is basically the card player every person imagines himself to be when they first visit a casino. He can calculate the odds on every hand. He knows what his opponents are thinking. He’s clever with just the perfect amount of everyman thrown in. It’s like if his characters from Good Will Hunting and Ocean’s 11 got married and had a kid.
Matt Damon’s character also narrates the film. Personally, I’m a fan of this. In some films–fuck you, studio cut of Blade Runner–the voiceovers imply that the audience is too dumb to understand even the basics of human interaction. However, I found this voiceover to be well done. It set the tone of the film by using the lexicon of card players to describe the player’s thoughts and actions. It also really forces the viewer to get in the mindset of a poker player. Anyone who’s ever watched the World Series of Poker at 3 AM on ESPN8 (“The Ocho”) can tell you that the players don’t show emotion. The voiceovers really allow the audience to experience what the card players feel, while still being true to the emotionless setting. I really liked the Atlantic City scene as an example of what I’m talking about, plus it contains zero spoilers to the movie’s plot.
I really enjoyed this film. The story is fairly simple, but it allows the characters to really interact and shine. The ending is a bit weak and the relationship the Mike McDermott has with his girlfriend feels a little forced, but the acting really pulls its weight. At the conclusion of the film, I wanted to hop in my car and road trip it with Josh to Atlantic City, which I think makes the movie a success.
Rounders is available on Netflix to stream.
Next week, Josh will be watching a Hitchcock film! Rope stars Jimmy Stewart and is famous for taking place in real time, being shot in ten 10 minute long takes (the limit of what a film reel could hold at that time), and being edited together to appear as one long take. It was a test of endurance unlike any other film of its day, literally. During production, a camera operator’s foot was crushed and broken-he was gagged and dragged off the sound stage so as not to ruin the shot with his screams. It’s also one of my favorite non-famous Hitchcock movies.
cinemateur 