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PURE M Magazine
I
Review by Jason Coulter
t’s hard to tell whether Mark Wahlberg gives a good
performance in The Gambler, a remake of the 1974
film of the same name. He plays Jim Bennett, an
English literature professor with a penchant for selfdestruction and a serious gambling problem. The main
problem being that he’s downright rubbish at gambling.
With his life spiralling out of control, Jim decides that
borrowing money from various criminals is his only way out.
It doesn’t go very well of course, and eventually Jim owes a
lot of money to some very scary people. Jim’s answer to this,
is to borrow more money and sink further into debt. Thus the
circle of gambling life goes on.
There are a lot of problems with The Gambler. It has a very
strange tone that sometimes gets very… well, quirky. There are
a few scenes that are simply jarring and out of pace with the
whole film, not least an absurd appearance from Pulp’s
Common People and some pantomime basketball commentary
from Michael Kenneth William’s character, Neville Baraka.
When I said Jim Bennett is rubbish at gambling, I meant it.
In a sense, he is crying out for someone to grab him by the
shoulders and tell him just how bad he is, but no one ever does.
Instead they just let him go on with his addiction.
In fact he’s rubbish at a lot of other things too. Conversing,
caring for and generally being around, other people being one
such problem. This isn’t a big deal for one of his students
however, who bizarrely takes a real shine to our nihilistic,
walking disaster. Brie Larson plays Amy, the token love
interest. How on earth she feels anything for Jim is beyond
comprehension, especially after the first time we see Jim at his
day job. Because Jim is one of those lecturers. A lecturer who
would be thrown out of any university in the real world, for
being a shouty, hateful, mess.
A far more interesting relationship is between Jim and his
mother. At times it feels that her motherly love is damaging
both of them, and this brings an emotional touch that the main
storyline doesn’t have. The film glosses over this family affair
rather poorly, despite being one of The Gambler’s few bright
spots.
Because the film isn’t all bad, and there are some good
moments. The gambling scenes are tense, nervous affairs and
are the only time Wahlberg’s permanent nonplussed expression
serves him well. In a sense, you are watching a man struggling
with his desire to win big. As his prize gets further and further
away, desperation take hold.
Despite prominent billing, Jon Goodman’s character is limited
to only a few scenes, delivering an alarmingly topless
performance. A couple of economical rants and in inexplicable
urge to help Jim aside, his role is scant in every sense of the
word.
The Gambler just isn’t a very good film. It doesn’t pack any
punch, and you often find yourself simply not caring what
happens to our protagonist. It’s a slog to get through and with
an array of great films in the cinema at the moment, this isn’t
worth anyone’s time.