User reviews

It's hard to go wrong with Robson Green in anything. He's tall and gorgeous, with that great accent, and his acting is wonderful. He's able to be both gritty and romantic.

In The Gambling Man, based on the novel by Catherine Cookson, he plays Rory, a young man in 19th Century Jarrow England who happens to be a crack poker player. Currently he is collecting rent and having a difficult time of it because he's too kind. He'd love to get into big gambling, but he needs a large stake to do it. He steals five pounds from his employer, and his good friend ends up being accused of it and goes to prison.

The is the watershed moment in Rory's life and sets up what happens during the rest of the film. In the gambling circle, he meets Frank Nickie (Bernard Hill) who has certain rules about winners at the table -- rules Rory doesn't want to follow. For that, he endures a savage beating and nearly doesn't survive.

We see Rory throughout his life, constantly having to deal with Nickie and his enforcers, the Pity brothers (who have none). When his wife finds out that his friend went to prison for him, she leaves him and later Rory is told that she did not survive a boat sinking. The woman he is working for as an account manager, the daughter of his late employer, is obviously interested in him (though he's completely blind to it) and finally proposes. A marriage simply for companionship on her end turns into something else.

Really interesting story about a complicated man and the surprising, disturbing, and shocking turns his life takes. The atmosphere is sheer perfection, putting one right in the middle of 19th century England. And the acting - Robson Green gives his usual strong performance; Bernard Hill is terrifying as Nickie, and Sylvestra le Touzel is wonderful as Charlotte, as is Anne Kent as Lizzie and Ian Cullen as Paddy.

High production values, a great cast, and intriguing story make this an excellent watch.

I liked this movie and recommend it to others. It was a bit different than what I normally watch. It was so interesting to watch Rory grow up in the short time of the span of the movie. At first he is much like a 17 year old boy wanting to get under his girlfriend's skirt, but then doing the "honorable" thing and marrying her. His life is destroyed by the death of his childhood love and rebuilt by a strong woman who knew what a grown up love was like.

In the end his life is turned up side down and in a terrifying moment he reaches for the one woman who he knew loved him and that he had grown to love.

I have watched this video several times now and I cannot fault it in anyway. The performances are excellent, the settings are wonderfully authentic and the story line is strong and the direction taut.The wonderful thing about the Tyne Tees productions of the Cookson books is the outstanding authenticity and atmosphere they get in their settings. This one absolutely reeked with atmosphere - misty dimly lit alleyways, dramatic lighting on faces in the darkness, all suggesting the sordid and seamy side of the back streets of the Tyneside underworld of that period. The marvellous street scenes with their pathetic flotsam and jetsam of poverty. It's all there. Robson Green gives a strong and compelling performance as Rory, showing all the complex sides of this character. His make-up after the beatings and burning is wonderfully realistic, some of the best I have ever seen. Sylvestra le Touzel is superb as Charlotte, totally believable and sincere and Stephanie Putson's Janie is equally strong. You feel genuine sympathy for her unhappy situation. And I particularly liked Ann Kent's Lizzie. All the performances are excellent, with particularly villainous villains. Bernard Hill can do more with one piercing look than a million words. The final fire sequence is terrific. How it was filmed I can't imagine, it has you cringing in your seat. Lovers of Cookson and anyone who enjoys really good drama don't miss this terrific presentation.