Plot: The 2014 movie The Gambler is a remake of the 1974 movie of the same name. The original took audiences into the world of Axel Freed, who not just had a gambling debt to pay off but welcomed the presence of danger in his life. It was full of grit and self-destruction with Axel becoming an anti-hero who somehow earned the sympathy of the audience.
Replicating that was the challenge for Mark Wahlberg, who portrayed leading character Jim Bennett, and director Rupert Wyatt. Joining the odyssey is Brie Larson, who plays a college student in one of Bennett’s classes but also crosses paths with him while working as a cocktail waitress in a back-room gambling hotspot.
Just like the original, the protagonist intentionally digs himself deeper into trouble. It’s not enough to have gambling debt, Bennett wants the danger that comes with it. He makes one mistake after another, building the drama and the tension while the people in his life grow tired of his antics.
Ultimately, Wahlberg as the main character gets himself into deep trouble in more ways than one. He risks his life to borrow money from a gangster. His relationship with his mother falls apart. His relationship with Larson, playing his student, blurs lines. There are so many different angles to view the story and so many ways the protagonist digs a hole for himself that the supporting actors like Larson, John Goodman, and Michael Kenneth Williams almost outshine Wahlberg.
The Gambler is the type of movie that might not work in the modern world. Rather than getting caught up with bookies and back-room games, a character like Bennett would have access to online casinos where it’s easy to find online blackjack and poker games. Such platforms make it easy for anyone with an interest in casino games.
Luckily for the movie, that’s not the case for Wahlberg’s character. The tension builds on multiple fronts as his life falls apart on multiple fronts. The audience can never be sure what danger will befall the main character next, which keeps the action rolling and keeps the audience guessing throughout the movie.