The Gambler

[zizo22]

Director: Rupert Wyatt
Screenwriters: William Monahan (screenplay), James Toback
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Lange, John Goodman
Genre: Crime | Drama | Thriller
Release date: 25 December 2014

Lit professor and gambler Jim Bennett's debt causes him to borrow money from his mother and a loan shark. Further complicating his situation is his relationship with one of his students. Will Bennett risk his life for a second chance?

[yoco]

Look good! :)

[zizo22]

Look good! :)

Mark Wahlberg one of my best actors I like him a lot, but he not always wise when he pick his movies.

[slikrapid]

*** spoilers ahead ***


solid wahlberg, goodman, though the movie gets quite annoying with several things like:
- the main character is constantly asking for trouble with what he does (gambling, behavior) and what he says ('his truth' to other people's faces) - obviously, such a character would not last very long (even the movie hints at this by showing many hairy situations in just 7 days)
- and he is supposed to be some misunderstood? genius writer who can tell other geniuses/genii by their body language or something they wrote (scribbled in his class?)
- then we get his freshling student & some gangster (ingeniously) figuring out he is the real writer of some anonymous work for no apparent reason and in no-time
- the mother/son relationship was just awful
- the basketball angle was weird, coming from out of nowhere (that gangster figured even this out)
- the girl angle was unbelievable since the girl did not seem like the crazy adventurous type who would just gamble away whatever she has
- the 3 loan sharks (black/white/yellow) were way too easy on our guy and he could get away with more loans from the same people, who even does that? (yeah, sure, they like his style - but its pretty safe to say they like their money a bit more than that)
- gangster wants to go straight and become an avocado farmer...hmmm
- i think they even faked an outdoor shot of the mountains (gambled away the budget?)
...

(1)
the life philosophy of our main character was:
- i want either a victory (all) or nothing (at all), thus he constantly plays 'double or nothing' and similar 'total win' or 'total loss' games, trying to win all that he wants (or lose everything trying) - akin to that 'win or die trying'
- so he constantly comes close and fails
- so people keep lending him some money to pay it off and guess what, he immediately tries his gambling routine and the debt keeps growing
- and he always goes alone
- and he doesn't like mediocrity, only top notch students (basically geniuses)
- and the way to win is the same as it was when losing (gambling)
- another idea was: he cannot help his behavior (so he doesn't even try) - a similar theme with a pawn shop owner who cannot help himself but to lower the initial offer by the customer (our main character) - a similar theme was with the basketball player/student who cannot help it but play-to-win in a basketball game (which eventually helps our main character, since he notices such behavioral patterns)

(2)
but this time:
- he wasn't alone (another helping student) - he had help from others
- he was helping a guy (the basketball player/student) - he wasn't doing it only for his own gain
- he wanted to settle all his debts - come clean out of it all
- he wanted to end this gambling chapter with a win (prove himself he was a winner, not a gambler), no money won (only to cover the debts, did not care about the 'extra cream') and the girl (marking a new chapter in his life)
- and finally he succeeds


confusing, right? so how could (1) & (2) work on a deeper level?
- in order to go higher spiritually, one has to complete the materialistic journey, in which one often gets help from others (directly/indirectly/interconnectedness) even if one 'walks alone'
- likewise, one has to help others along their ways in a similar manner (knowingly/unknowingly/interconnectedness), not only look for his own gain
- karmically speaking, all of it needs to be settled or all pending cause-effect relationships need to get completed or fulfilled or resolved, reaching a state akin to a clean slate (what is meant by lyrics saying: 'paid my dues')
- in terms of events, there is no gambling (that einstein quote: God doesn't play dice with the universe.), thus all outcomes are certain (100% win, no gambling) - likewise, one's true personality or true self are unchangeable (cannot help himself about that theme)
- the materialistic journey does not end up with getting more money, money is not relevant anymore
- the girl may be understood as the 'missing' female principle (the intuition) in our main male character (his intuition is weak, so it seems as if missing)
- and the way to win (life) is to live (your life)
- and the journey is a guaranteed success (no gambling or mediocrity, just winning, with a top notch result, genius at work)



for other good movies with the gambling theme, see:

The Sting (1973) light-weight
Casino (1995) classic
Rounders (1998) fun

[ozymandis]

Rounders was really fun introduced me to poker and now I love it