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A+ |
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| Story: |
A+ |
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| Acting: |
A+ |
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| Direction: |
A+ |
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| Visuals: |
A+ |
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Bana and Berrymore Get Lucky With a Great Film
by Eric (movies profile)
Oct 4, 2007
4
of
5 people found this review helpful
A gambler walks into a pawn shop looking to sell a digital camera still in the box. When the dealer won't give him the price he wants, he explains how his camera could increase her profit off the other cameras. The dealer smiles, but doesn't give in, but does give him more.
This is an excellent opening in Lucky You, director Curtis Hanson's finest film since Wonderboys. Taking place in Las Vegas just before the 2003 World Series of Poker. The gambler's name is Huck and is played by Eric Bana. He is one of the many trying to get into the game. But he has a few problems. The first and most serious is that while he is a great player he has a problem leaving the table while his chips are up, always putting deeper into an already deep well. His second problem is that he's finding him attracted to a newcomer in Vegas, Billie (Drew Barrymore). She's sweet and nieve to the likes of Huck, whom easily charms her even when her own sister (Debra Messing) warns her away. She sees him as someone she can save from themselves.
Huck's biggest problem comes from his anger towards his father, the legendary gambler L.C. Cheever, who is back in town for the Series aiming to win his third. Huck challenges him every chance he gets, even in the stupidest of circumstances. He wants to hurt him in the only way he knows how, by beating him in the Series. But everytime he gets the money for the entry fee, he loses it due to his eagerness to beat his father. It eventually puts him in a bet having him running around a golf course.
His issues with Billie seem to be the same ones he has with poker: everytime he gets to the top, he loses it due to his carelessness. He takes her out for a celebration (with her money, of course) of her first job as a lounge singer. It doesn't take too long to get to the tables And soon enough he's on a winning streak. But when she asks that they leave, he sends her off while he keeps playing. The next day, he apologizes and tells her he lost all the money (which of course he promises to pay back). She keeps believing in him even after that and keeps cheerleading him as he keeps going downhill. She'll eventually have enough, but not too soon.
We do finally get to the big game and Huck faces his father at the big table. But the film is not interested about who wins because we all know that Huck will not be happy either way. His only happiness can only come from those things away from the table. He might have love with Billie, but not until he can settle his accounts with his father (and quite possibly some time in Gambler's Anonymous).
Eric Bana's performance is crucial to the film's success. He has to be charming since that's how a successful gamber operates. But he is also a ruthless and careless about the people who are around him. Bana shows this on more than one occasion. Drew Barrymore plays her role in the same way as the plucky, sweet girl-next-door. But here there's a deeper sadness knowing that she's falling in love with a man hell-bent on self destruction. But it's Robert Duvall who coasts through this film on a breeze (usually that is not a compliment, here it's an ovation). That's because the character has come to terms with the good and the bad. He knows he has hurt his family and knows that his son is isolating himself. He knows he's done wrong and tried to make amends to a son who doesn't want it.
Curtis Hanson has a wide range of talent when it comes to the film choices he makes. But his films seem to talk about individual characters finding their inner demons more daunting than their outer advisaries. In Lucky You, he has found characters and locations that suit his ideal storytelling techniques. He isn't phased by the lights and glamor of Vegas, but goes where the regulars go, places that are more casual and comfortable.
While everything I've said makes this film seem like a heavy drama, it's actually a comedy of manners. The script written by Eric Roth and Mr. Hanson is stimulating and witty, not afraid to be either too goofy or too serious. It tackles poker with little explanation because it's not the highlight of the film. It's the means to bring characters together, to focus on faces and determinations.
All in all, I loved this film and see it as one of the year's best. And that's a hand I'll put all-in. |
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