This gambling tale is at its best when it is simply watching the way the world of sports betting works. Brandon Lang (Mathew McConaughey, AMISTAD) is a Division 1 college football quarterback clearly heading pro until a bad knee injury sidelines his dreams of the lavish life. While trying out for any team that will let him, Lang works in Las Vegas as a 900 number recorder. When one day he gets a shot at the sports line, he injects his own picks, which average an 80% accuracy. After which he gets a call from Walter Abrams (Al Pacino, THE GODFATHER), who runs one of the hottest sports picking services in the U.S.
Their business is legal because they do not take bets; only advise betters on whom to bet on. Lang’s talent at picking winners is unmatched, so Abrams lavishes the young man with money and a beautiful apartment while training him to become a salesman. In the process, Abrams transforms the non-cursing, non-betting Lang into a sports car driving, cocky persona named John Anthony. Abrams looks at Lang as the son he never had often including him in outings with his wife Toni Morrow (Rene Russo, THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR) and ultimately building his business around the young man.
Turns out, Abrams is a recovering gambler and in his line of work that’s like an ex-alcoholic owning a bar — it’s dangerous. Though Lang isn’t betting his own money, the film shows how the business itself is just legalized gambling in a way. Abrams’ employees are just gambling with other people’s money. Their business lives and dies by keeping gamblers winning so that they will come back for picks week after week. The business starts becoming a scam when the pickers pressure the betters to bet more and more money each week.
Director D.J. Caruso (TAKING LIVES) and writer Dan Gilroy (FREEJACK) draw complex characters in Lang and Abrams. For Lang, he has always wanted fame and fortune, but what price is he willing to pay? For Abrams, everything in life is a gamble — his business, his health and his family. His wife loves him, but worries a great deal that he will slip back into his addiction. Her job is to maintain the status quo for her family, which includes keeping herself, a recovering drug addict, as well as her husband, on the straight and narrow. He’s very unpredictable, manipulative, but also a bit of a sucker. His emotional shifts can be startling. In these shifts, the film loses some of its power though. Some of Abrams’ over-the-top actions feel unbelievable — more like a writer’s conceit than real behavior. Our uncertainty toward how to feel toward Abrams is compelling at times, but at other times frustrating. Additionally, his heart condition isn’t handled well at all.
For the Lang character, he makes personality shifts that seem a bit too abrupt. One scene he’s nice boy Brandon Lang and the next he’s jerky John Anthony. There’s also a moment when I felt Lang would have walked away and doesn’t, which doesn’t work, especially considering that there isn’t enough reasons for him to have to stay.
Despite some of its flaws, the film never loses your interest. The chaotic characterization, for the most part, fits this world and these characters. The filmmakers create a palpable tension that makes us feel the risks these people are taking. Both Pacino and McConaughey deliver solid performances, pushing and pulling our sympathies throughout. The world of sports betting is a high risk, exciting and dangerous place and this film captures all those qualities well.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
