Philip Seymour Hoffman carries the film and is in pretty much every frame of it as the Dan, struggling with his addiction and financial woes. We follow Dan closely as he weedles around within his job, smartly defrauding the bank and its customers of large sums of money, then gambling it away, paying off debts, winning loads in a lucky streak at two casinos, then losing it again, as addicted gamblers are likely to do.
In amongst all that there's a dedicated girlfriend, firstly catching on to what's happening - as he makes excuse after excuse about why he's not around for her or any kind of life outside of his work. Then, hoping Dan will wake up and recognise what's happening to him before the world closes in on him and it's too late. She, Belinda, is played nicely by Minnie Driver, though she's not in the film for a great amount of time.
John Hurt plays the manager of one of the casinos very nicely too as we follow him. Firstly overjoyed that a big spender is losing all his money, getting concerned that he's then going off to Las Vegas instead of to his establishment, then anxious as Dan starts to win big in his casino, his boss breathing down his neck in turn - and also as the suave host, pampering and tending to the wishes of, or at least trying to, one of his big spending customers.
The supporting cast do a fine job as well with some humour often thrown in. One character is Dan's small-time money lender suddenly out his depth as things take off - and also a particular employee of the casino jumping around trying hard to show Dan the error of his ways. There's a tapestry of characters and situations which Dan is holding at arm's length as he orchestrates his rise and fall. The 100 minutes or so fly past, for some of it I was perched on the edge of my seat as I felt Dan's stress!
As time goes on he steals more and more, learns very quickly how to cover his tracks, survives a bank audit by quick thinking and confidence tricks and keeps a low profile by dressing shabbily and keeping his old clapped out car. It's almost as if he really isn't interested in the money per-se but rather the process of the gambling. And I guess that's the point. He's sometimes abrupt and rude to people around him, including the long-suffering Belinda, but in a quiet, reserved way, encouraging people to trust him and think the best of him as he covers his tracks.
It's really nicely shot - the camera often lingers on close-ups of Dan's face in amongst all the stress, anxiety and mayhem. There's an explainer during the end credits letting the viewer know what happened to Dan after the end of the film, for those who don't know, and the outcomes are not really that straight forward either. So perhaps if you don't know the truth of it all, read up afterwards and enjoy the thriller/character study of a man in turmoil as-is. Recommended. It's not on streaming services that I could find just now but it's not a new film so second-hand DVDs are your friend. I saw it in CeX for £2.50 today.
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