Mississippi Grind
Have you ever bet on something with a degree of absolute randomness? Like, say, the decision to stay at a bar based on whether the next guy that walks out of the bathroom is wearing glasses.
At what point does placing bets merge with a form of gambling addiction? Mississippi Grind examines the personalities of a couple of guys who will risk everything they own for the thrill of the win.
You couldn’t ask for a better pair of actors to portray the kind of behavioral compulsion on display than Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn. Sienna Miller, Alfre Woodward, Analeigh Tipton co-star. James Toback, a writer/director whose script for the 1974 movie The Gambler (remade last year with Mark Wahlberg), which is a kind of template for this genre of movie, pops up in a humorous cameo playing a character named Tony Roundtree. Other gambling themed films would include Altman’s California Split (1974), and Rounders (1998).
The acting on display brims with narcissism as well as self-deceit. Mendelsohn in particular shines when he plays a loathsome creature. Mississippi Grind opens in theaters this weekend.
— Michael Bergeron