The second Cineastes project is due on Monday, so with that in mind I took an early look at the film in question. That film is Karel Reisz’s The Gambler, an adaptation of the Dostoevsky novel that transports the source material to 1970′s New York. 

The James Caan starring vehicle unfortunately failed to impress on initial viewing, with the film feeling as though it lacked a lot of the morale of the book, and just proving downright unlikeable. I look forward to re-evaluating The Gambler over the weekend, and analysing it fairly in turn. 

I looked at The Wrestler’s DVD release on Tuesday night, and am in the process of writing a much bigger evaluation than the one I wrote for its theatrical release, and as such I can’t help but compare the central protagonist of The Gambler with that of Rourke’s turn in The Wrestler. Both are fuck-ups of the highest order, but where The Wrestler has a heart full of the aim of redemption, The Gambler appears to lack ant form of recognition. 

Check back tonight for the full essay on The Wrestler, with The Gambler arriving on Monday.