Don't show the result

Rating: 5/10 (8 November 2019)

Having been involved in the odds business for the last 15 years, watching these movies is always a struggle. The directors seem adamant on stuffing as many cliches and late winners as humanly possible.
Problem is at 30 minutes of watching it, couldn't remember if I had already seen this before, it was that generic. In the end this movie actually had some heart and character, but a smarter punter than me would have left well before it showed.
So allow me to offer a simple tip to the next director of this same story portrayed in "let it ride", "21" "the gambler" and countless similar movies:
-If your movie needs the final result of a lucky coinflip to work in your protagonist favor, your movie doesn't work.
Same goes for any story about a luck based game, whether it be sports betting, poker or the financial markets. It's the about the process, the strive for excellence, not the result. In the movies the process means character development and the plot. This movie did offer that, but left it too late for my sportsbook.
Unless you enjoy the intellectual pursuit of figuring how to win, the win in itself is meaningless. Then you are better of just quitting, which is always a safe bet. Can't lose what you don't risk.
With movies just as well as degenerate gamblers, the need for excitement overrides everything though, even art. So directors feel compelled to show the final result. Even if the correct play would be to leave it open. If you cant do that, you shouldn't be gambling with a movie like this anyway.