In search of inspiration

Rating: 7/10 (1 October 2006)

"Two for the money" is a film with a plot line with seen lots of times: a hot shot gets a big chance for doing what he does best; he meets a mentor that could play him or not; things could go incredibly right or terribly wrong...However, it's set in a different environment; and one we're not used to be around: the sports gambling business.
Mathew McConaughey gets inside the skin of a man who, in real life, got the opportunity of a lifetime and then had to deal with a world he didn't rule. Brandon Link is the name of the real man and the last name was changed to Lang for the movie. McConaughey seems very comfortable with his role as he goes from one place and one accent to another and controls the various emotions the film presents with confidence.
The picture has its ups and downs; its heavy and full of adrenaline moments, its quiet and well constructed parts and its dramatic instants where everything appears to be falling apart. I'm talking about the story anyway, which, for a movie of this type, exceeds the expectations. Screenwriter Dan Gilroy met McConaughey's character in real life and heard his tale and decided to write a screenplay about it. With a lot of knowledge of the business and the language, Gilroy's script is an element in favor of the film's consistency.
An entertainment picture like "Two for the money" can loose its rhythm inevitably, but for more than two hours it keeps up, mostly because of the screenplay and the performances of the main cast (Renne Russo is formidable in her best portrayal since "The Thomas Crown Affair"), but also because D.J. Carusso's intelligence in the decision of not showing a lot of groove with his camera and keeping it neat (editor Glen Scantlebury deserves credit for the latter one).
Whoever brought Al Pacino for the ride also has to be congratulated. I have a thing with Pacino I can't quite explain. The man is a theater actor; he comes from the stage. I've seen a lot of his work: some of it has left me speechless ("Carlito's Way", "Scent of a Woman", "The Insider", "Heat"), some of it has been just fine ("The Devil's Advocate", "Frankie and Johnny"); but during this decade it has appeared to me as very similar.
With a bit of screaming, long beards and a position of experience, Pacino's characters seem to express a desire of his to portray people at the top of their game but at the bottom of their life. His detective in "Insomnia", his press agent in "People I Know", his director in "Sim0ne"; they are all the best at what they do but show some important weakness as persons and look tired and, even more noticeable, near the end of their existence.
Although, as I watched "Two for the money", I found (during specific frames) some unique expressions coming from Pacino: challenging looks and glimpses that are inspiring and make me wonderHow inspired must have Mathew McConaughey felt having Pacino by his side as his mentor during this film, or Colin Farrell for that matter, having him in the same position during "The Recruit"?