The Gambler

It's hard to believe that Mark Wahlberg, who starred in last year's universally-panned Transformers: Age of Extinction, could then follow it up with what some believed to be an Oscar hopeful.Wahlberg hasn't bothered the Oscars in some time, not since 1997's classic Boogie Nights. However, with The Gambler, Wahlberg is firmly planting himself as a serious actor, even partaking in the ritual of shedding huge amounts of weight for a role.

Based on the 1974 semi-autobiographical thriller by James Toback, it follows literature professor Alex (Wahlberg) who purposefully puts himself in a position of danger with criminal types. A degenerate gambler, he does it constantly and recklessly, never knowing when to quit or cash in his chips. At first, it appears that he's on a self-destructive mission that destroy himself and any relationship he has. Not so. Enter Amy (Brie Larson), a student of Wahlberg's who runs into him at one of the illegal gambling den he frequents. The two share a bond - he of gambling away his money and she of, well, self-destructive people. Because of Wahlberg's gambling, he inevitably finds himself dealing with a number of loan sharks.

John Goodman, character actor Alvin Ing and The Wire's Michael Kenneth Williams serve as the film's protagonists, to whom Wahlberg owes vast sums of money. In an overly complicated fashion, Wahlberg borrows from one to pay the other and to pay another, even roping his mother (Jessica Lange) to cover some of his debts as well - all of which, we know, Wahlberg has no intention of paying. The reason for all this, as is revealed glacially over the course, is that Wahlberg is simply trying to cut every tie to the world he's built for himself. Wahlberg's character wants to start afresh with Brie Larson in tow and because of his privileged upbringing, he must burn away any chance of returning to them. He has to go to back to square one. Deep stuff.

Let's start with the positives. The Gambler's an acting masterclass. Wahlberg gives one of his finest performances since Boogie Nights, gleefully eating up every chance to flex his truly impressive range. His character is a gambling savant, even if he owes hundreds of thousands of dollars. There's a real sense of desperation and grim determination from his performance. We truly believe that he is down to the end of his being and it is, for the most part, thrilling to watch. Likewise, the stand-out supporting cast of Jessica Lange, John Goodman, Michael Kenneth Williams and Brie Larson all fill out their roles with real depth and character.

Here's where we run into trouble. Despite all this impressive work by the actors, the script is simply too dense and too heavy. Wahlberg's character goes on these increasingly wordy, flashy monologues and interjects them with a requisite amount of curses. The dialogue, which is 90% of the film, feels forced and contrived. Some of the conversations Goodman and Wahlberg are way too verbose and poetic to be real and it pulls on any sense of realism. Each and every actor is giving their best, but what they're given to work with isn't a whole lot.

Rupert Wyatt, the director, has a history with crime drama. 2008's The Escapist was a critical hit and gave him his ticket to direct 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The direction is steady and not overly given to moments of flash, but there's an assuredness to how he sets up a scene visually. It's just a shame he didn't weigh in on the writing as William Monahan's overwrought screenplay feels like it was stretched out too much. Scenes run on and on with dialogue, rarely moving the plot forward and basking its own supposed cleverness. Almost every dialogue scene runs five minutes past its time, simply adding more dialogue for the sake of literary grandeur.

At just under two hours, The Gambler feels much longer and truly is a workout. The performances by all concerned are top-notch and it's a real acting masterclass. However, the frequently dull and massively over-written script lets it down and prevents it from being a great film like the original.