Mississippi Grind

Dir: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

2015

***

Mississippi Grind throws a few suggestions regarding the nature of gambling at the craps table and hopes that one of their horses comes in. It seems to be wildly open to interpretation but in fairness, there is no real formula to the perils of gambling, a winner will always think their success is down to skill while a loser will think they're just having a bit of bad luck. This element of the film is explored perfectly, what isn't as clear however is what each of the leading characters represent. Neither character is as they first seem but I'm not sure this works in the films conclusion. The characters are continuously inconsistent, the same could be said for gambling but if this was the intention and I'm afraid it just doesn't work, in fact it hinders the character's development and the structure of the story in general. I didn't hate the final message, quite the opposite in fact, but I didn't really feel it. It seemed unexpected just for the sake of it without a real palpable or indeed reasonable explanation other than 'because gambling'. Ben Mendelsohn is an awesome actor and he really sells the part, any problem I have with his character is down to the writing and certainly not his performance. The same goes for Ryan Reynolds, he plays the part well but you have to wonder whether he was cast due to his own persona, rather than his acting skills. It works but it is like watching Ryan Reynolds rather than his character. Sienna Miller and Analeigh Tipton are great in their supporting roles, it probably would have distracted too much from the story but it would have been nice to see more of their characters. Marshall Chapman's Cherry cameo of sorts was a highlight of the film, as sad and pathetic as gambling is, gambling movies need a bit of cool in them and her five minutes bring the film down to freezing temperatures. It is a little disjointed and could have done with a few tweaks but overall it is a pretty good film and is entertaining throughout. I was expecting more from the Half Nelson creators but there is still plenty to enjoy.