The Gambler

Every year, worldwide, casinos are making a hell of a lot of money on gambling addicts. For those who can handle their money, should continue to play, as long as no one gets into trouble. On the other hand, those people who have no limits, and can spend all their money and loose everything they have, need professional help. I have been to different casinos, but actually have not spend everything i had in my wallet that night, i try and win some and then quit. I can understand why people love playing different card games, throw dices or use slot machines. There is something powerful about the feeling of winning money. It must be hard running a casino with so many people desperate to win the biggest amount of money, and some might do anything to win, cheating included. One really good motion picture that captured this gambler world, was Martin Scorseses film Casino. Robert De Niro in the lead role as the casino owner is brilliant, trying to make sure business is going better for each day. One moment everything is going great, with lots of cash coming in, but it also include many problems. I have been thinking about going to Las Vegas, just to see how life really is in the gambling paradise. I realise that money will go quickly, so i should stick to a budget, to make sure i am not completely empty handed. Until then, ordinary casinos works just fine. Speaking of gambling, have anyone of you seen The Gambler from 1974, with James Caan in the lead role as egoistic gambler ? I have not seen it so far, even if i heard about it many years ago. Some people say it is one of the best performances of James Caan ever, just to hear that makes it more exciting to check it out. 30 years later, director Rupert Wyatt ( who directed Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes ), decided to do a remake of this classic film. This time we will see Mark Wahlberg in the lead role as the gambler instead, in an updated version of the 70´s classic film. Is this remake a surprisingly good version of the original film, or is this another remake that should not have been made at all ?

Jim Bennett is a literature professor, who tries to get his students thirsty for knowledge. What the students don´t know, is that he have a big problem. Jim is a gambling addict, and loan money from several loan sharks. In a total he owns Lee ( Alvin Ing ) a total of 260,000 dollars, including 50,000 dollars from Neville Baraka ( Michael K. Williams, both of them loan sharks. Jim is told he have to pay these money back in 7 days, or he will be killed. Meanwhile, Jim is working, educating students in his literature class. He have noticed that one of his students, Amy Philips ( Brie Larson ), is a potential writing prodigy. They begin to spend time together, without the school knowing. Jim is frustrated because one of his students, Lamar Allen ( Anthony Kelly ) is not paying attention in class. Lamar wants to beome an NBA player. To buy himself some extra time, Jim talks to another loan shark Frank ( John Goodman ) about a new loan. But he changes his mind, when Frank demands that he should not give him a loan. Jim comes up with another solution, asking his mother Roberta ( Jessica Lange ) to take out enough money, so he can pay his debts. Instead, he spend it all on a night out with Amy. Baraka locate Jim, and kidnap him to give him the last ultimatum, he have to convince Lamar to win one basketball match with 7 points or more, or they will kill Amy. Jim goes back to Frank, who finally agree to give him a loan of 260,000 dollars, so he can pay of his debts to Lee. Jim have another idea, but the question is, can he make his way out of this mess ?

It is nice to see Mark Wahlberg do a very different character for a change, from his latest films. Since i have not seen the original film i can not compare them, and maybe that can also be good. In this case i have to see that The Gambler is actually a good film, showing us how a gambler can destroy his own life, and affect others around him. There is a feeling all along that this is all he knows, gambling is everything he lives for. And somehow this makes it kind of sad story, that he choose this over anything else. He does work as a literature professor and try and do his job professional. When he gets involved with one of his students, seeing that she is the most hard working student, things take a different turn. Director Rupert Wyatt does a pretty good job to tell this story, about a man who is stuck in 2 different worlds. He have a passion about hiss class, but the money problems become larger for each day. What i like most about this film, is the fact that it shows you, no matter how intelligent you are, we can all do mistakes. When money rules your entire world, there are no limits to what can happen. You might think that people like this gambler, would learn his lesson. But when you are an addict, you won´t stop until it goes too far. Mark Wahlberg is cool in his character, he sounds confident and cocky, but somewhere he have lost his dignity. John Goodman is really funny, as a loud loan shark named Frank. This may not be as good as the oiginal film, as many claims, but i still find The Gambler have an important message to say. Once an addict, always an addict, unless you get help. Money can make people do cruel things, and there are no limits. A great performance from Mark Wahlberg, and i have to say Jessica Lange is really good here, nice to see a legendary actor back on top again. All bets in, this is a film you never know what the results will be at the finish line. And that makes The Gambler worth your time.

Rating: DDD