The Gambler

Addiction as a disease that takes away freedom and dignity. It has nothing to do with intelligence; when you start pulling those close to you into the vortex, changing behavioral patterns, and rejecting therapy because the thrill of addiction and the prospect of defeat outweighs everything else. James Caan, manipulating the self-destruction button, is perfect. But he had to wait another seven years for Mann to show him that it’s better to steal money than to win it. By the way, those two films with protagonists having somewhat unconventional value systems are quite similar in many ways. (08/30/2023)

I know quite a lot of gamblers, and I know their psyche. That’s why I don’t consider this film any kind of remarkable feat. I think that even though James Caan delivered a decent acting performance, he failed to portray a true addict. Those look a bit different. But maybe there is a difference between a 1970s American gambler and a Czech gambler of today, one that I cannot tell because I wasn’t yet born in the 1970s and I’ve never been to the US. So it could actually be a decent movie but I’m unable to tell objectively. If I, however, wanted to see a true gambler’s story, I’d go to a local pub where there are dozens of them. If I give them a hundred for the slot machine, they’ll gladly tell me their whole story, even shaking my hand and thanking me for my interest. And that would be something. (01/21/2013)