More than meets the eye

Rating: 9/10 (22 July 2006)

The performances of Al Pacino, Rene Russo and Matthew McConaughey are what elevates this movie to a higher level than just another morality tale about sports gambling.
Pacino stars as Walter Abrams, a passionate and driven (but broken in so many ways) man who is looking for a protégé, someone he can pass his sports gambling empire to. He finds it in Matthew McConaughey, in perfect form as Brandon Link, a swaggering hotshot who can predict the winning football teams before they play. Walter puts all of his eggs in Brandon's basket, despite the reservations of his wife Toni (the luminous and always wonderful Rene Russo). She is a recovering heroin addict, and she knows that her husband can slip back at any time into one of his addictions. Walter is vulnerable, and she knows it. She is fighting for him to stay afloat, and for the survival of their marriage.
Like any tale of a mentor-protégé, when things are going well, the world is theirs for the taking. But when things come apart (and they always do)-the mighty fall hard. This film however, is more complex-it examines the world of sports gambling and the nature of addiction all the while operating around the father-son-like relationship of Walter and Brandon which at times is harmonious and at other times fractious. Toni at times seems like the third wheel, although Walter's paranoia leads him to betray her and he nearly derails them. The final showdown between Russo and Pacino is both powerful and moving. Kudos to Dan Gilroy, who wrote the role specifically for Rene. Exciting and thought-provoking, this is a terrific movie all around.