• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Film
  • DVD
  • Editorial
  • About ScreenFish

ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • News
  • OtherFish
  • Podcast
  • Give

Gambling

Brighton 4th – Debts to be paid

February 11, 2022 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“I wrestled all my life. How could I not wrestle for you?”

Brighton 4th, directed by Levan Kouashvili, is Georgia’s official submission for Best International Feature Film. It won awards at the Tribeca Film Festival for Best International Narrative Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor. It is a story of a father’s love and the length he will go to redeem his son.

Kakhi, a former wrestling champion, travels to New York to visit his son, Soso. (Kahki is portrayed by Levan Tadaishvili, a former Olympic and world champion wrestler in the 1970s.) When he arrives, he discovers that Soso is not studying medicine, as was thought. Rather, he is living is the Russian immigrant community of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. (Many of the people in the film are non-professional actors from the community.) The boarding house he’s in is a friendly community of emigres who all came to the US with hope of a new life, but have never caught hold of the American Dream. They hold on to their past culture because they can’t really adapt. To make matters worse, Soso has run up a $14,000 gambling debt with local Russian mobsters, and the money is due.

As the film progresses, it touches on other aspects of the difficulties these immigrants deal with, such as employers who don’t pay them and threaten to call Immigration. The film sets these up with a certain dark humor.

Kakhi will go to great lengths to try to help Soso get out of debt, and possibly have a new chance to start over. He is even willing to put himself on the line. At his age, though, he is not the man he used to be. Kakhi is a man of integrity and honor, but above all, he is a father who does not give up on his son, even when he seems beyond redemption.

Kakhi is a man who exhibits grace, not only toward his son, but with everyone he interacts with. He is forgiving and kind. He offers hope to those who seem to have given up, or who long for home but cannot go back. But above all, he is fully concentrated on saving his son, at any cost.

Brighton 4th is in select theaters.

Photos courtesy of Kino Lorber

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Gambling, immigrants, Official Oscar entry, republic of Georgia, wrestling

The Card Counter – Unforgivable?

September 20, 2021 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter is the story of a solitary man hiding from the world. Or more precisely, a man hiding from the sin and guilt that he carries with him.

“William Tell” (Oscar Isaac) plays cards for a living. He’s very good at it.  He knows precisely the advantages the house holds in each game. He counts cards in blackjack (against the rule, but hard to enforce). He stays under the radar by never winning too big and by moving from one small casino to another. He lives in seedy motels. When he checks in, he covers everything with sheets to create a completely featureless world. His life is the personification of Stoicism.

Oscar Isaac stars as William Tell in THE CARD COUNTER, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features / ©2021 Focus Features, LLC

His gambling skills catches the eye of La Linda (Tiffany Haddish), an agent who arranges for backers for gamblers. When the gambler wins, they split the winnings. If they lose, that loss will come out of future winnings. William isn’t moved by the promises of bigger winnings (and the chance of indebtedness). But there is an attraction between William and La Linda. William’s Stoic lifestyle, however, doesn’t have room for romance.

At a law enforcement convention (cops offer a good chance for William to win against them), William wanders into a presentation by Major John Gordo (Willem Dafoe) about a new software program. Also in the room is a teenager, Cirk (Tye Sheridan), who recognizes William and gives him his number to call.

Oscar Isaac stars as William Tell and Tiffany Haddish as La Linda in THE CARD COUNTER, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features / ©2021 Focus Features, LLC

We need some back story at this point. William (PFC William Tillich) served at Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraq War. Under the tutelage of Major Gordo, William tortured the prisoners there. His guilt and moral injury consume him, even after spending eight and a half years in military prison for his actions. Gordo, as a contractor, walked away with no punishment. For William the time in prison was comforting, with its routines and certainties. There he began to read. The book we see him with is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, a Stoic who became Emperor of Rome. After release, William sets about his life in casinos, perhaps as a way of hiding from his past.

Cirk’s father also served at Abu Ghraib. He ended up killing himself. Cirk is out to avenge his father’s death by kidnapping, torturing, and killing Gordo. He seeks William’s help in this plan, but William knows that such hatred devours the soul and tries to dissuade Cirk. He asks Cirk to travel with him as a sort of protégé. William also calls La Linda to start in on the circuit and make more money. As William moves towards the big payday of the World Series of Poker, Cirk become impatient, and William and La Linda generate some sparks. As is often the case in Schrader films, there will have to be violence before redemption is found.

Oscar Isaac stars as William Tell and Tye Sheridan as Cirk in THE CARD COUNTER, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features / ©2021 Focus Features, LLC

In press notes, Schrader define his genre of films as “they typically involve a man alone in a room wearing a mask, and the mask is his occupation.” William Tell, whether in prison, his spare motel room (his personal prison) or in the midst of a busy casino is such a man alone in a mask. The man behind the mask we only really discover in his thoughts as he journals. Those thoughts are about the weight of the sin that he carries and the lack of the possibility of forgiveness for those sins.

Sin and redemption are key themes in Schrader films. (He directed Hardcore, American Gigolo, and First Reformed. His screenplays also include Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, and The Mosquito Coast.) There are no filmmakers better at dealing with those topics than Schrader.  Schrader’s Calvinist background is often present in his films. It is not explicit in this film, but it is present nonetheless.

Sin here is tied to unspeakable violence. William cannot forgive himself for participating. And we are subtly reminded that he was doing so in the name of America. Perhaps we are willing to look away and move on (without admitting the sin or the need of forgiveness), but the moral weight of what William did is a burden he continues to carry. Here is a man who knows guilt—not as an abstract, but as a daily presence in his life. Even when he was in jail, he was seeking more punishment in a search for expiation. Now he seeks to live behind his mask and be disconnected for the world.

Oscar Isaac stars as William Tell in THE CARD COUNTER, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features / ©2021 Focus Features, LLC

Are William’s sins forgivable? We want to answer yes, but how can we say that without a severe price being paid? And if we see our own culpability in his sins, how can we not wonder the same about our guilt? The real question isn’t about the sin, but how do we find redemption? William sought to survive anonymously, but in the end it will take far more for his life to be redeemed.

The Card Counter is available now on Blu-ray and Digital with the bonus featurette “A High-Stakes World.”

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: abu ghraib, Gambling, guilt, Iraq War, Moral Injuries, redemption, sin

Uncut Gems: It’s About to Pay Off

December 12, 2019 by Julie Levac Leave a Comment

Image result for uncut gems

The comedic powerhouse that is Adam Sandler has yet again flexed his dramatic skills in the new film by Josh and Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems.  Some will recall Adam Sandler previously playing the strong dramatic role of Charlie Fineman in the 2007 film, Reign Over Me. 

In Gems, Sandler completely embodies the lead role of Howard Ratner, an eccentric jewelry store owner with a severe gambling addiction. When his bets don’t pay off, he gets himself into very risky and often dangerous situations in order to make a buck and pay off his debts. Fueled by greed and consistent harassment by a trail of creditors, Howard doesn’t seem to be able to keep his head above water.

Image result for uncut gems

Right from the beginning of the film, we get an overall sense of chaos. It begins with chaotic music and over top of the dialogue, to the point where you can’t fully understand everything being said. We follow Howard as he hops from one location to the next, smooth-talking his way through business and personal dealings. The Safdies use the hectic and claustrophobic nature of New York City, mixed with Jewish jeweler culture, to their advantage as it only heightens the chaotic nature of the film.

Image result for uncut gems

Howard is quite a selfish character who will do whatever is necessary to get what he wants. After being caught cheating with his girlfriend, Julia (Julia Fox), he becomes separated from his wife, Dinah (Idina Menzel). As he gets caught up in numerous distractions, he seems to have less involvement with his children, From work to gambling to chasing Kevin Durrant for a diamond, Howard essentially has no time left for what’s most important. To top it off, the safety of his family becomes at risk after Howard’s numerous shady actions.

As more and more weight piles on top of Howard’s shoulders, he quickly begins to unravel.  Always sly, he soon begins to show his many vulnerabilities and becomes increasingly desperate to fix the trouble that he’s got himself into by doubling down on some of the same behaviours that got him into that place to begin with.

On top of it all, it seems that Howard just longs to be loved. He doesn’t seem to know what he has until it’s gone. He shows remorse, but it’s often too little, too late.

Aside from the incomparable Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems was blessed with a dominant supporting cast, including one of my personal favourites of the film, LaKeith Stanfield, who plays the very convincing plug, Demany. We also see some unsuspecting talent in Kevin Garnett and The Weeknd, who play themselves.

Overall, this is a film that should not be missed, and I would not be shocked to see a number of award nominations for Uncut Gems in the future.

Uncut Gems is scheduled for a limited release in the United States on December 13, 2019, and will be released nationwide on December 25, 2019.

Filed Under: Reviews, TIFF Tagged With: Adam Sandler, Benny Safdie, Gambling, Idina Menzel, Josh Safdie, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, LaKeith Stanfield, New York, New York City, The Weeknd, Uncut Gems

Primary Sidebar

THE SF NEWS

Get a special look, just for you.

sf podcast

Hot Off the Press

  • SF Radio 8.25: Mental Health and the Multiverse in EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
  • Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers – Dusting Off these Two Gumshoes
  • GIVEAWAY! Advance Screening of TOP GUN: MAVERICK!
  • Men: Trapped in Man’s World
  • Into The Weeds: Taking Responsibility for Corporate Irresponsibility
Find tickets and showtimes on Fandango.

where faith and film are intertwined

film and television carry stories which remind us of the stories God has woven since the beginning of time. come with us on a journey to see where faith and film are intertwined.

Footer

ScreenFish Articles

SF Radio 8.25: Mental Health and the Multiverse in EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers – Dusting Off these Two Gumshoes

  • About ScreenFish
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 · ScreenFish.net · Built by Aaron Lee

Posting....
 

Loading Comments...