The Gambler(2014)

Cast : Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, John Goodman etc...

Plot and the Summary:

The gambler is an crime drama film which is about an English professor Jim Bennett played by Mark Wahlberg . The story opens up with Jim in the hospital and his grandpa's is in " an about to die situation" and he breaks down, this is the only scene in the movie where we can see Jim cry. He then goes to  a Korean gambling establishment where he goes to a very high winning streak and finally bets all of his winnings on 22 and loses the whole(You need to watch this scene seen because it will get familiar later on!!). We can see that throughout the film Jim is  frustrated at his life, he shuns out his mother, and goes to her only for money to gamble more,As the film progresses on we get to a feeling that Jim is going to die because of his huge debts to the loan sharks and Jim doesn't care if they beat  him to his death because he is too tired of his life and wants it to end. We can see this when he talks to the Amy about his wants in life and his frustration to his students when he shouts at Lamar.

The director then sets up the last seven days. Each day Jim builds up his debt more and more by getting it from different people( the Italian, the negro and the Korean). During the last two days he devises a plan where he bets in a NBA game with the help from Lamar and pays off the " King of Spades" . On the last day he calls up the Korean and the Italian to settle their due but he has enough to pay one of them. This is where the films subtitle " the only way out is all in" gets all its meaning.

The films background score is nicely done especially when he runs throughout the night  to Alice's place. In many places the background songs blends into the situation especially the scene where Jim drinks away and thinks that the house is being flooded by the rain.  Mark Wahlberg does this role with  ease. With his impulsive and aggressive speeches which we have seen in many other films.

Verdict:

The film is a remake of 1974 film of the same name. Film critiques say that the film is a "let down" from the former version, but i haven't seen that one so i cannot comment on that. Overall a very good film. Brilliantly shot with all the old school locations and crisp dialogues.