Rounders
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Poker addict Mike McDermott knows the game inside out, but loses his money one night in a game to Russian-American gangster Teddy KGB. Promising his partner Jo he'll give up, he meets up with best friend Lester 'Worm' Murphy, just out of prison and owing lots of money to the wrong kind of people. McDermott becomes his co-guarantor and now there's only one way to raise the money, the pair have to get back into the game.
What critics thought
DivisiveRounders landed in mixed territory on release — critics found it atmospheric and entertaining in flashes, but divided over whether it had anything real to say beneath the poker-table surface, and whether its leads supplied the intensity the material demanded. Its cult reputation, driven largely by the poker community, outstrips the lukewarm reception it originally received.
“Though John Dahl's Rounders finally adds up to less than meets the eye, what does meet the eye (and ear) is mischievously entertaining.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“Rounders sometimes has a noir look but it never has a noir feel, because it's not about losers (or at least it doesn't admit it is). It's essentially a sports picture, in which the talented hero wins, loses, faces disaster, and then is paired off one last time against the champ.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Mike should supply the drive the film otherwise lacks, and Damon doesn't. We might believe he can play cards, but we don't believe he needs to do it, in the way, say, that the 12-year-old Mozart needed to write symphonies. He's not consumed with genius. He's a nice guy with a skill.”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“Norton, cast in what might have once been the Sean Penn role (hideous shirts, screw-you attitude), gives Worm a shifty, amphetamine soul and a pleasing alacrity ... Norton's performance never really goes anywhere, but that's okay, since the story is just an excuse to lead the characters from one poker table to the next.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“The main problem with Rounders is that the movie never quite knows what it is about: What is the moral ante?”
Liam Lacey·The Globe and Mail
Genres
Drama, Crime
Cast & Crew
John DahlDirector
Matt DamonMike McDermott
Edward NortonLester 'Worm' Murphy
John TurturroJoey Knish
Gretchen MolJo
John MalkovichTeddy KGB
Famke JanssenPetra
Martin LandauAbe Petrovsky
Michael RispoliGrama
Goran VišnjićMaurice
Ray IannicelliKenny
Christopher YoungComposer
David LevienWriter
Brian KoppelmanWriter
Jean-Yves EscoffierCinematographyRounders
Poker addict Mike McDermott knows the game inside out, but loses his money one night in a game to Russian-American gangster Teddy KGB. Promising his partner Jo he'll give up, he meets up with best friend Lester 'Worm' Murphy, just out of prison and owing lots of money to the wrong kind of people. McDermott becomes his co-guarantor and now there's only one way to raise the money, the pair have to get back into the game.
What critics thought
DivisiveRounders landed in mixed territory on release — critics found it atmospheric and entertaining in flashes, but divided over whether it had anything real to say beneath the poker-table surface, and whether its leads supplied the intensity the material demanded. Its cult reputation, driven largely by the poker community, outstrips the lukewarm reception it originally received.
“Though John Dahl's Rounders finally adds up to less than meets the eye, what does meet the eye (and ear) is mischievously entertaining.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“Rounders sometimes has a noir look but it never has a noir feel, because it's not about losers (or at least it doesn't admit it is). It's essentially a sports picture, in which the talented hero wins, loses, faces disaster, and then is paired off one last time against the champ.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Mike should supply the drive the film otherwise lacks, and Damon doesn't. We might believe he can play cards, but we don't believe he needs to do it, in the way, say, that the 12-year-old Mozart needed to write symphonies. He's not consumed with genius. He's a nice guy with a skill.”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“Norton, cast in what might have once been the Sean Penn role (hideous shirts, screw-you attitude), gives Worm a shifty, amphetamine soul and a pleasing alacrity ... Norton's performance never really goes anywhere, but that's okay, since the story is just an excuse to lead the characters from one poker table to the next.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“The main problem with Rounders is that the movie never quite knows what it is about: What is the moral ante?”
Liam Lacey·The Globe and Mail
Genres
Drama, Crime
Cast & Crew
John DahlDirectorMatt DamonMike McDermottEdward NortonLester 'Worm' MurphyJohn TurturroJoey KnishGretchen MolJoJohn MalkovichTeddy KGBFamke JanssenPetraMartin LandauAbe PetrovskyMichael RispoliGramaGoran VišnjićMauriceRay IannicelliKennyChristopher YoungComposerDavid LevienWriterBrian KoppelmanWriterJean-Yves EscoffierCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy