Lucky You

I suppose it’s a semi-spoiler to say how surprising it is for a film that centres itself on the skills of bluffing and mis-direction to do so little tricky footwork with its plot and characters – this is a resolutely, sometimes tediously down-the-line father-son drama which is frustrating in that the poker game setting provides absolutely no ironic payoff; perhaps it would be more fun for students of the game (as apparently Roth and Hanson are), and as always Hanson captures the milieu well, providing a vivid portrait of the chintzy, seedy feeling of even the more glamorous poker lounges, but he really should have found a way to make the games more exciting, or develop the intriguing character drama. At least the cast are good company - Duvall has done so many variations on this role that he can write the book, but he effortlessly steals the film; Bana does as much with as little as his vaguely defined character can provide him, and Barrymore provides attractive window-dressing (though I’m not sure why her character is here or even necessary). A disappointment given the considerable talent involved.