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Poster for The Gambler

The Gambler

The only way out is all in

2014 · 1h 51m · R Crime, Drama, Thriller
Directed by Rupert Wyatt

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Overview

Literature professor Jim Bennett leads a secret life as a high-stakes gambler. Always a risk-taker, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Staying one step ahead, he pits his creditor against the operator of an illicit gambling ring while garnering the attention of Frank, a paternalistic loan shark. As his relationship with a student deepens, Bennett must risk everything for a second chance.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
Rotten

The dialogue never leaves the surface and the running across Los Angeles that happens in the last sequence is supposed to thrill you, but it's such a cliche that your embarrassment extends to the crew member who has to follow with the camera.

Wesley Morris, Grantland
Rotten

Though Wahlberg is a fine actor, there's no way I can buy him as a college English professor holding forth on Shakespeare and Camus.

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Rotten

The hopeful ending comes off as too little, too late. Wahlberg gives the role his all, but sticking with him is a futile gesture. The Gambler never pays off. It's a sucker's bet.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Fresh

As The Gambler becomes less about its protagonist's dashed intellectualism and more about the gathering danger of his predicament, the film gains power.

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture
Fresh

An agreeable if ridiculous slice of old-school Hollywood machismo ...

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

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