BEFORE: Linking from "Scoop", Scarlett Johansson was also in "The Island" (yep, it's on the watchlist) with Ewan McGregor (last seen in "Jack the Giant Slayer"). Alternately, Ian McShane was also in "Jack the Giant Slayer" with Ewan McGregor - and to think I was worried about the linking in these more recent Woody Allen films...
THE PLOT: The tale of two brothers with serious financial woes. When a third party proposes they turn to crime, things go bad and the two become enemies.
AFTER: This seems to be the conclusion of what I'm sure people must call Woody Allen's "British Crime Trilogy". If not, then maybe they should.
There's something Shakespearean, even Biblical, about a tale that pits two brothers against each other in the end. But it's a long, slow descent to the conclusion of this tragedy. I can't say that this one held my attention as well as "Scoop" did, because it didn't, but it all felt real, or at least possible.
One of the brothers has grand investment plans, but no steady income. The other one has a steady income as a car mechanic, but also gambles - and he's one of those guys who thinks he can feel when he's got a lucky streak coming, which is the worst kind of gambler to be. That "system" of feeling lucky only has to pay off once, and then he'll think he can feel it every time, which of course he can't. So he'll keep borrowing more and more money, just to get himself out of the hole, when he's in fact doing the opposite and digging his hole deeper.
This would come just as I'm getting ready for a three-day trip to Atlantic City - and it functions as a cautionary tale against gambling. I'm no high-roller, but I do play the slots a little bit, even though my BFF keeps reminding me that "wheel games are for suckers". I'm just not confident enough to bet on blackjack or play high-stakes poker, so I devised my own system for playing the slot machines: I put $20 in a machine, and any time the total goes above $20, I cash out. Even if my total hits $20.25, I cash out. Then I put that ticket in my pocket and start on another machine with a new $20. I either cash out when the next machine goes over $20, or play it down to zero.
After playing 5 $20 bills in 5 different machines, I check my winnings. Ideally at this point I would have 5 tickets, which together total over my initial $100. It may not be a huge amount over, but if it's over $100, then I've won - and I usually spend my winnings at the buffet. If my total is less than $100, then I console myself with a trip to the buffet. See the difference? Either way, I'm going to the buffet, which is probably going to be a lot more profitable for me - basically the casino is betting that I can only eat $16.95 worth of food, and in truth I can eat quite a bit more, so in the end, I win.
(I have a more complex strategy for playing the slots, which involves alternating between betting 1 quarter, 3 quarters and the max bet, but I won't get into that here. Besides I'm not revealing all of my strategies to you, because if everyone did this, eventually it wouldn't work any more, and it just barely works as it is....)
Also starring Colin Farrell (last seen in "The New World"), Tom Wilkinson (last seen in "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"), Hayley Atwel (last seen in "Captain America: The First Avenger"), Philip Davis, Sally Hawkins (last seen in "Jane Eyre"), John Benfield, Clare Higgins.
RATING: 5 out of 10 greyhounds
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