The Gambler

2014
R
1h 51m

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

75K

YOUR RATING

Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Jim Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an underground world while garnering the attention of Frank, a loan shark with a paternal interest in BennettÂ’s future. As his relationship with a student deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chanceÂ…

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Crime Drama Thriller

Literature 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 stude... Read allLiterature 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?Literature 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?

Director
- Rupert Wyatt
Writers
- William Monahan
- James Toback
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

75K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Rupert Wyatt
Writers
- William Monahan
- James Toback
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations total

Videos28

The Gambler: Quid Pro Quo

Photos149

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Each day Jim's shirt color gets lighter, starting with a black shirt and ending with a white shirt

Goofs
Early in the movie when Jim is at the blackjack table and wins an $80,000 bet with a natural 21, rather than being paid the correct amount which should have been $120,000, he is paid incorrectly as he receives 16 of the blue/white chips adding up to $160,000.

Quotes
Jim Bennett: I've been up two and a half million dollars.
Frank: What you got on you?
Jim Bennett: Nothing.
Frank: What you put away?
Jim Bennett: Nothing.
Frank: You get up two and a half million dollars, any asshole in the world knows what to do: you get a house with a 25 year roof, an indestructible Jap-economy shitbox, you put the rest into the system at three to five percent to pay your taxes and that's your base, get me? That's your fortress of fucking solitude. That puts you, for the rest of your life, at a level of fuck you. Somebody wants you to do something, fuck you. Boss pisses you off, fuck you! Own your house. Have a couple bucks in the bank. Don't drink. That's all I have to say to anybody on any social level. Did your grandfather take risks?
Jim Bennett: Yes.
Frank: I guarantee he did it from a position of fuck you. A wise man's life is based around fuck you. The United States of America is based on fuck you. You're a king? You have an army? Greatest navy in the history of the world? Fuck you! Blow me. We'll fuck it up ourselves.

Crazy credits
During the opening titles, as the classic Paramount logo appears onscreen, we hear the sound of a roulette as the stars are aligning over the Paramount mountain.

Connections
Featured in Film '72: Episode dated 12 November 2014 (2014)

Soundtracks
That Glow
Written by Paul Janeway & Jesse Phillips
Performed by St. Paul & the Broken Bones
Courtesy of St. Paul and the Broken Bones

User reviews221

Featured review

8/10

'You're born as a man with the nerves of a soldier, the apprehension of an angel'

Screenwriter and self confessed compulsive gambler James Toback joined William Monahan to concoct this rather bizarre but ultimately fascinating film about a very bright English Literature Associate Professor who is an inveterate gambler. Rupert Wyatt directs this cross between philosophy of life and the dangers of the life of gambling. Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is a risk taker. Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster (Michael Kenneth Williams) and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother (Jessica Lange) in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank (John Goodman in a superb performance), a loan shark with a paternal interest in Bennett's future. As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chance.

The strange admixture of classroom teaching with students whose views of learning vary from creativity to going pro-basketball (Anthony Kelley) bring out some interesting philosophical comments from Jim the teacher to the underworld of crime and gambling that is complicated by Jim's addiction to the 'sport' ultimately makes for a thought provoking film. There are some fine supporting roles by Andre Braugher, George Kennedy, Alvin Ing, Richard Schiff, but in the end the performances by John Goodman and Mark Wahlberg are the focus of the odd but compelling drama.