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Instead of being titled “The Gambler,” the movie should have been titled “Three Supporting Characters in Search of a Lead.” Even though his name is prominently displayed above the film’s title and he appears in virtually every shot of the updated version, Mark Wahlberg’s character is so one-dimensional that he might as well not be there at all. In scenes involving Michael K. Williams, John Goodman, and Alvin Ing, Mark Wahlberg appears and then vanishes into thin air. The script only gives him one note to play, and after a while it gets old because it’s the same thing over and over again. Jim Bennett, who is played by Mark Wahlberg, stands there waiting for a note to be played on a triangle while the other three actors control entire sections of the orchestra.
This remake of the film starring James Caan from 1974 lacks all of the grit, nastiness, and desperation that were present in the Karel Reisz and James Toback version of the story. One thing that made Caan’s character stand out was the unsettling feeling that the movie might do something terrible to him, or even worse, that his character might self-destruct and cause harm to himself. In contrast, the version from 2014 does not ever indicate that it will severely injure or even kill the risk-taker Jim Bennett. It is overly enamored with his confident, unflappable arrogance in the face of peril. Bennett’s ability to flee any predicament, no matter how desperate, is never in question. This structure lends itself particularly well to superhero stories and action films, but it is less effective for dramatic works.
The protagonist of “The Gambler” does not want to admit that Bennett has a gambling addiction. It makes an attempt to justify Bennett’s actions by connecting them to the existential works that he discusses in the college literature class that he teaches. Amy, played by Brie Larson, who was fantastic in “Short Term 12,” is enrolled in that class. The following is a character description for Amy that sounds like it was taken straight from a file cabinet at New World Pictures: During the day, she is a college student, and at night, she works as a cocktail waitress in a gambling den. She is aware of Bennett’s carelessness with other people’s money while he is gambling at the casino owned and operated by Mister Lee (Ing), and I guess the fact that she is aware of this excites her or something. Because Larson is given less to play here than she was in “Don Jon,” this interpretation of her character is as good as any other interpretation of her character.
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Every altercation that takes place between Bennett and one of the other characters is like a “very special episode” of a sitcom from the 1980s. This occurs as Bennett continues to dig deeper holes for himself. Bennett is subjected to a barrage of criticism from those around him, and he is called out on a number of his transgressions and blunders so that he can learn a valuable lesson. For the sake of emphasis, they will occasionally rough him up. After that, they completely disregard the process of instructing, and instead submit to his will. When Bennett asks his extremely wealthy mother, played by Jessica Lange, for the $240,000 he needs to clean up his most recent mess, she responds by slapping him around. Despite the fact that Lange has just performed a scene of extreme reprimanding that would put Joan Crawford to shame, she still goes to the bank to retrieve the money for Bennett.
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Scenes like this one occur quite frequently with the previously mentioned trio of Ing, Goodman, and Williams; however, these actors are adept at playing with the absurd, purple macho prose and posturing of the screenwriter, William Monahan. They present the material in an unconventional manner, whereas Wahlberg plays it so straight that he is constantly overshadowed. They take center stage in these short films, while the main character is relegated to a supporting role. When playing the role of Mister Lee, Ing delivers his lines in a cool, collected manner that is entertaining to watch. Goodman performs the entirety of his role topless and elevates the f-word to the level of poetry. Williams’ performance as Neville, who acts as a charming mentor to Bennett, is the most successful of the three. This is because Williams’ performance maintains the “dangerous Black man” edge that Toback’s earlier films liked to fetishize.
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Since Bennett is initially in debt to Lee’s casino, borrowing money from Lee is analogous to borrowing money from Peter in order to repay Peter. Bennett borrows money from each of them individually. Bennett is always one step ahead of the three of them when it comes to their finances, even when one of them shows up to inquire about their money. Each individual is aware of when he has borrowed from the other, as if a “Bennett Alert” had appeared on their respective smartphones prior to the event. If only there were some scenes in which Ing, Goodman, and Williams sat around exchanging information and laughing manically about how they can’t hurt Bennett too badly lest they upset the audience, I would have given anything for those scenes. They ought to be the focus of this movie.
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Since the outcome of the story depends on whether or not Bennett is able to pull off all of his schemes and turn his big score into real money, it is not an unreasonable expectation to have for “The Gambler” to get one’s heart racing. But the director, Rupert Wyatt, is too preoccupied with trying to be artistic and bold with the juxtapositions of his visuals and soundtrack to worry about the film’s pacing. During one particularly foolish scene, the timeless hit “This Bitter Earth” by Dinah Washington is played over unnecessary footage of writhing, naked strippers. The viewer is left wondering, “Just how bitter IS the earth in the Champagne Room?” In another scene, Bennett runs what seems to be a marathon, only to arrive at a location that the movie incorrectly assumes is sad because of the way it was portrayed.
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Look, I get it. This is supposed to be a fable or a parable of some sort. But even the silliest of fairy tales contain at least one danger that could actually happen. I thought to myself, “eh, he’ll be all right” when various minions finally did pummel Bennett for his sins. And indeed, he was. What could possibly be so dramatic about that?
For more personality quizzes check this: Mr Holmes Quiz.
