A young man is a reformed gambler who must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks.
Director: John Dahl
Writers: David Levien, Brian Koppelman
Stars: Matt Damon, Gretchen Mol, Edward Norton, John Turturro, John Malkovich
Richly atmospheric and colorful performances contributed to the movie's entertainment value.
Gretchen Mol, Edward Norton, John Turturro, Martin Landau, and Famke Janssen costar; they're all pretty good, but not good enough to make this 1998 feature worth seeing.
The end result is still short of a winning hand, since the screenplay is so utterly predictable.
The wholesome pup's poker face alone, however, hardly accounts for the film's failure to thrill. Damon's character doesn't really have that much stake in the story's outcome.
Tagline: Trust everyone... But always cut the cards.
Motion Picture Rating: R
Genres: crime, drama
Categories: poker, russian mafia, gambling, loan shark, law student, card playing, neo noir, gambling debts, poker player, release from prison, best friend, boyfriend girlfriend relationship
Producer: Ted Demme, Joel Stillerman
Editor: Scott Chestnut
Casting: Avy Kaufman
Director of photography: Jean-Yves Escoffier
Original music composer: Christopher Young
Costume design: Terry Dresbach
Executive producer: Bobby Cohen, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Kerry Orent
Associate producer: Tracy Falco, Christopher Goode
Production design: Robert Pearson
Sound: Mark Weingarten, Ben Wilkins
Runtime: 121 min
Country: USA
Language: English, Hebrew, Russian
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Color: Color