Mike falls into his old habits with Worm, letting law school and his love life slip away. We also imagine he'll do the right thing, go back to law school, and straighten out his love life. And along the way there will no doubt be a few tragedies and close calls. I was surprised to find Rounders taking a different turn. This is a film, for once, that is less interested in screenwriting formulas than in the love of the game.
Rounders contains many, many hands of poker.
Fortunes rise and fall before our eyes. The people who don't get it will no doubt think this is a movie about a bunch of cards. Real poker is a game of psychological insight and careful examinations of others. And professional poker players know more about human nature and habits than the finest psychiatrists in the world. I was absorbed into Rounders from the very beginning, watching the games and the people who play them.