TwittReview: Mark Wahlberg leads a stellar cast in The Gambler. A brilliant movie about self-destruction, second chances, and making life the way you want it.
Grade 5 out of 5.

The Gambler is one of those rare movies that is not only well cast but brilliant in all uses of the word. We are treated to a world of self-destruction and all being as we follow Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) in his downward spiral from his family, relationship, and students by gambling and incurring a quarter of a million dollar debt in the process. The darkness that Jim travels through is a fine line between genius and crazy.

Overview:

Jim Bennett is a college professor who hates his job, his students, and his life. His grandfather (George Kennedy) recently passed away. His mother wants him to do better and will help where she can. His students that he teaches College Literature too want to be writes but are all crappy at it. Only one, Amy Phillips (Brie Larson), has any talent and happens to have been in a relationship with Jim at one point. He is a failed novelist, hates his students, and won’t pay back any of the money he’s borrowed from the gangsters and loan shark’s he’s crossed.

What worked:

• The dark tone of the world that Jim has put himself in. The dynamic of Bennett’s work life to his non-work life versus his gambling life – he tells the truth and doesn’t care who hears what he has to say. He’ll say it and just keep doing what he does as he spirals out of control.
• John Goodman and Michael Kenneth Williams deliver amazing performances as the yin and yin to Bennett’s yang. Goodman plays Frank, the Yoda-like loan-shark who dwells philosophical advice to Bennett.  Williams plays  Neville “King of Spades” Baraka a gang leader who allowed Bennett to borrow money. Both try to guide Bennett to the right path in taking ownership of paying back the debts he’s occurred. However each deliver their messages in their own unique way. Frank’s words tell Bennett that if he is crossed, then Bennett will pay where as Baraka uses muscle to get the message across.
• The powerful scenes between Wahlberg and Jessica Lang who plays Bennett’s mom Roberta.  All she wants is for her son to get out of the jam he puts himself in and is willing to do what she can to help. Even if she is giving him $260 thousand dollars knowing that he won’t use it to pay off the various gambling debts he is in.
• Speaking of hating his students, there are three that come into play for Whalberg’s Bennett. The first is Amy Phillips played by Brie Larson. She works as a cocktail girl at one of the illicit gambling rooms Bennett visits but is also a student and ex-relationship to him.  Emory Cohen plays Dexter an up-and-coming tennis star who is also practicing with Roberta but also is on the verge of going pro. Lastly is Anthony Kelley’s Lamar Allen a Junior on the Varsity Basketball Team who needs to go pro and enter the NBA draft because of a bad knee. All three are there for Bennett when he needs them to help with getting the debts paid off in a way that works the system against itself.

What didn’t work:

• Andre Braugher – You will always be Frank Pembleton to me. However your one scene appearance was a waste of your talents. Honestly anyone could have played the part you played.

Final thoughts:

With small nods to the 1974 original, William Monham (The Departed) crafts a powerful script that is enhanced by the direction of Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes). Rated R with adult themes, language, and brief nudity and a run time of 111 minutes, The Gambler is a powerful movie with a brilliant scrip and cast.

Grade: 5 out of 5.