Country: United States
Genre: Drama/Suspense
Director: John Dahl
Year: 1998
Rating: 
TRASH CINEMA HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MOVIE
Strictly speaking, Rounders isn’t trash cinema. The script by David Levien and Brian Koppelman is highly literate and honed to a high gloss. Usually, John Dahl’s films are kind of pulpy. They aren’t poorly acted, but they’re highly stylized — Dahl’s a noir specialist. But with a script as subtle as Rounders, and with actors of the caliber of Ed Norton, John Malcovich, John Turturro, Martin Landau and Matt Damon on hand, Rounders can’t help but be a solid mainstream drama.
It has some of energy of a genre film though, which I believe is due to Dahl’s skill. It’s hard to pick apart how he pulls that off. I think it’s the noir touches like the steam rising from grates, the tactile sense we get from narrow focus images like John Malcovich pulling apart an Oreo cookie next to his ear, the way the gliding camera and tight compositions box in the characters, creating a feeling of claustrophobia. Whatever it is, Dahl’s techniques create a lot of excitement.
Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) is a law student who has earned his way through college by playing poker. After getting busted in a high stakes game with Teddy KGB (John Malkovich), he promises his girlfriend Jo (Gretchen Mol) he’ll stop playing cards. That promise quickly goes by the wayside when Mike’s best friend Worm (Edward Norton) gets out of prison owing a large sum to loanshark Grama (Michael Rispoli). Together, Mike and Worm work a series of poker games to raise the money. The only problem — Worm is addicted to the risk of poker.
So, Rounders focuses on two themes: on the one hand, it’s a mismatched buddy film like The Pope Of Greenwich Village, in which the responsible buddy is dragged down by the reckless one; on the other hand, it’s about finding and accepting your true destiny, no matter what it is.
There are several standout performances in Rounders. Edward Norton is just amazing as Worm. I can’t think of anyone who’s better at playing a self-destructive sleaze — he’s even better than Eric Roberts was in Pope of Greenwich Village. And John Malcovich is hilarious as Teddy KGB. He’s equally menacing and comical, a great character. But the trickiest part of all is the lead, Mike McDermott. He has to be opaque because he’s a gambler to the bone. There can be no tells in his performance, and yet the actor has to be able to communicate what he’s feeling to the audience. Damon is a master at this kind of role — check out his performance in The Talented Mr. Ripley for evidence.
The final thing that makes Rounders special is the breathtaking authenticity of the script by David Levien and Brian Koppelman. All of the locations where the games are played, and the patter the gamblers spew out as they bet ring true. The writers either know what they’re talking about or they’ve done their research. As a bonus, the script is witty and sharp as the card tricks of an ace mechanic. For example:
Worm: She’s really got him by the balls.
Petra: That’s not so bad, is it?
Worm: It depends on the grip!
Rounders is yet another underrated film from director John Dahl that deserves your attention. Don’t miss out.
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