Mississippi Grind

Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn star in this road movie about two gamblers who meet over a poker game and team up to bet their way from Iowa to a big tournament in New Orleans. Reynolds is the charismatic Curtis, generous and trusting to a fault, while Mendelsohn is self-destructive Gerry, a hopeless gambling addict and pathological liar whose past is a wrecking yard of ruined relationships and failed promises. Mississippi Grind plays like a ‘70s character drama, an oddball buddy movie in which the anti-heroes journey through a landscape of card rooms, dice tables, and racetracks. Filmmaking team Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson) have a knack for finding the right patter of dialogue, rhythms of body language, and expressive silences between words. Shot on location along the Mississippi River, the film offers a great tour of the backroads of the American Dream, where folks make bets in hopes of fortune, playing until the money is gone. Sienna Miller, Analeigh Tipton, and Robin Weigert costar as the women in the lives of the central drifters, while Alfre Woodard has a memorable scene as a loan shark. A solid indie film, this is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Two of a Kind: On the Road” behind-the-scenes featurette (18 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a fine character-driven buddy comedy.] (S. Axmaker)