Rounders

Directed by John Dahl, Rounders follows Matt Damon’s Mike McDermott as he and Edward Norton’s shifty Lester Murphy as they attempt to clear a large debt by participating in a series of high-stakes poker games. Filmmaker Dahl, working from a script by David Levien and Brian Koppelman, delivers a somewhat erratic yet predominantly satisfying drama that grows more and more absorbing as it progresses, as the movie, which runs a palpably overlong 121 minutes, suffers from a hit-and-miss first half that doesn’t, generally speaking, possess the streamlined or propulsive feel one might’ve anticipated – with the uneven vibe perpetuated by a regrettable emphasis on McDermott’s less-than-captivating relationship with Gretchen Mol’s long-suffering Jo. It’s clear, then, that Rounders benefits substantially from the persistently compelling efforts of its various performers, with Damon’s magnetic, charismatic turn as the sympathetic protagonist matched by an agreeable roster of periphery players that includes John Malkovich, John Turturro, and Martin Landau. (The latter is especially good here and provides the picture with one of its most engrossing sequences.) Rounders‘ transformation from good to spellbinding is triggered by an increasingly mesmerizing midsection and third act that stresses Mike’s frantic attempts to raise a hefty chunk of change, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that Mike’s climactic match against Malkovich’s Teddy KGB is as gripping and exciting as one might’ve hoped – which ensures the movie ends on a high note and cements its place as an accessible, entertaining piece of work.

***1/2 out of ****