In this absorbing 1970s-style drama, a self-destructive gambler believes his fortune may be reinvigorated by a new friend, and the duo decide to travel from Iowa to Louisiana for a lucrative private card game. Along the way, they often lose, rarely win, and reminisce with regret and hesitant hope. Largely set in sleepy pool halls and anonymous, brightly lit casinos throughout the Midwest and the South, this is a road film which never raises its voice or belabors its point. It is calm, collected, insightful, and set apart by dynamic acting: Ryan Reynolds nicely subverts his usual devil-may-care presence as a vulnerable individual hiding behind a careful aura of alpha-male cool, and Ben Mendelsohn is poignant as a wayward antihero caught in a born-to-lose cycle and always in search of the next angle. In tandem, the two actors find a certain sad-eyed, smoky poetry in even simple lines: "How much do you owe?" "A lot." "To who?" "...everyone."

A-

Mississippi Grind

It's a good film. Scratch that. It's a really good film. But I'm not quite sure why. I just loved watching it, and I could carry on watching it for another two hours. It has something to say about addiction, but it's also a buddy movie. Confident Curtis and last-ditch Gerry going from town to town losing some, winning others, generally having a laugh, learning about each other, with no respect for money whatsoever. They're both basically a couple of gamblers. They both have a different outlook on life and gambling. One has had and lost the family, and this is a very much an all-or-nothing journey for him. The other is yet to have had a life or settle down, and is seemingly on this trip just for the thrill of it. It ends with no real lessons having been learned. But it somehow works. With its brilliant accompanying Southern tunes, Mendelsohn's grounded vulnerability, and Reynolds's cocksure charm, Mississippi Grind is a real winner.

B+

This is fabulous, a great film about gambling addiction and buddy road trips. Mendelsohn is better than ever, he nails the part and Reynolds fits right in as his lucky charm. The film is full of greatly shot surroundings and underlined by an excellent country music score. I felt completely in on the up and downs of the characters. An ominous ending felt inevitable, but a feel good victory happens, and the scene where they reconnect at the blackjack table is all about the best thing it has going for it, the connection between the two leads. Loved every bit of it.

A