The Gambler(2014)

Plot Summary

• Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is a Los Angeles literature professor with a severe gambling addiction caused by his view of the world as either having it all or having nothing. Jim goes to a high-stake gambling den right after attending this grandfather's funeral. This father, Jonathan, left him nothing in his will. Jim plays blackjack and quickly wins a few games to reach $80,000. But then he starts to lose and has to borrow money from the den to cover his bets.Jim ends up owing $240,000 to Lee (Alvin Ing), the proprietor of an underground gambling ring, and another $50,000 to Neville Baraka (Michael K. Williams), a loan shark. Baraka had seen Jim play and loose at Lee's den and was impressed with his style. Jim asked Baraka to stake him money, but Baraka asks for a 20% interest. Jim once again wins $160,000 in a few rounds of Blackjack, but then decides to bet everything on Black in roulette. Baraka says that he has been watching Red come up all night. Jim loses everything on Black, when it comes out Red. Lee gives Bennett seven days to pay off his debts or be murdered.During one of his classes, Bennett identifies student Amy Phillips (Brie Larson) as a potential writing prodigy, having previously encountered her as a waitress at Lee's gambling house. Amy admits that she started reading when she was only 2 years old and comes from a normal middle-class family. Jim tells his class that in every profession only the genius thrives. Yet, literature is one profession where everyone believes that they can write a novel. Jim says that one should not bother, if they are not a genius. Bennett also singles out Dexter (Emory Cohen), a genius tennis star (who is after both fame and money and wants to achieve the highest level in the sport. But when he started 5 years ago, he was naturally better than everybody else). Jim later confronts Lamar Allen (Anthony Kelley) in the next class. Lamar is a student who does not pay attention in class and intends to become an NBA basketball player. The college is putting pressure on Jim to pass Lamar regardless, as they want him playing professional basketball, which is worth a lot more to the college. Lamar pushes back saying that he is not at ease with his celebrity status in college and wants to live his life as a normal person, without others telling him what to do. Lamar says that he has a knee injury and yet nobody listens to him. Amy develops a personal interest in the professor. Jim tries very hard to keep Amy away from himself. But Amy is persistent and wants to have a relationship with him. Jim slowly warms up to her.Bennett considers borrowing money from Frank (John Goodman), another loan shark, to consolidate his debts (Frank demands 10% interest per week for a loan of $260,000. Frank also knows that Jim has never repaid a debt in his entire life) and buy himself some time but refuses to do so after Frank's demands include that Bennett admit, "I am not a man." Big Ernie (Domenick Lombardozzi) is Frank's collection man. Bennett convinces his mother Roberta (Jessica Lange) to give him enough money to pay off his debts, expressing no gratitude to her, then during a trip to a casino with Amy, Jim gambles it all away. Amy is impressed with Jim's ice-cold nerves and his philosophy towards life and has sex with him. Baraka and Lee both want their money back and are getting anxious and only 2 days are left. Jim asks Lee to stake him another $100,000 to win enough to pay Lee back. Baraka wanted Jim to give him Lamar's number, but Jim refuses as Lamar is his student and didn't want him tangled with loan sharks. Baraka kidnaps Bennett, has him beaten and forces him into an ultimatum-if he does not convince Lamar to win one of his college basketball games by a margin of 7 points or less, he will murder Amy.Amy comes by to meet Jim, but he rudely sends her away for her own safety. Jim goes to Frank, who advises him to change his version of a "f**k you" attitude towards life by getting enough money to build a safe house and make reliable low yield investments, for protection against his severe gambling losses. Frank lends him $260,000 to pay his debt to Lee, but also threatens to kill everyone in Jim's personal life if he is not repaid. Lee's men assault Jim when he comes to ask Lee to stake him $150,000, saying the only way he can pay the full $410,000 debt to Lee and Frank is to gamble and win. He uses the $150,000 to bribe Lamar (Lamar had earlier to the deal with Jim, as he knew that due to his bad knee, he will not be able to play professional baseball. He needs to make money before the knee blows out) into doing the basketball point-shaving scheme. Jim sends Dexter to Las Vegas to bet on the basketball game with the $260,000 he got from Frank. Lamar succeeds, so Jim uses his winnings to pay his debt to Baraka, denying he knows anything about the large bet made in Vegas.Jim then convinces both Lee and Frank to meet him in a neutral gambling den, where he wagers enough money to pay both men off-if he wins-on a single roulette spin. Successful, he leaves the money at the club for Lee and Frank saying, "I am not a gambler." The payment to Frank is more than he owed; Frank finds Jim and offers to give back the "cream" but, to Frank's amusement, Jim responds "F**k you". On an apparent adrenaline rush, Jim runs miles through the city to arrive at Amy's apartment; he is broke, but free from debt.

Storyline

• Jim Bennett is a risk taker. Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank, a loan shark with a paternal interest in Bennett's future. As his relationship with a student deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chance. — Paramount Pictures Wahlberg stars as Jim Bennett, a lecturer reeling from the death of his beloved grandfather (George Kennedy). His all-or-nothing personality gets him in debt for more than a quarter of a million dollars to the no-nonsense Mr. Lee (Alvin Ing), who runs an illegal gambling den. Jim attempts to play his way out of the hole by borrowing money from vicious criminal Neville Baraka (Michael Kenneth Williams), but his strategy backfires and leaves him owing the latter as well. His wealthy mother (Jessica Lange) initially refuses to give him any more money, which prompts Jim to make contact with Frank (John Goodman), a loan shark who offers to front him the cash he needs, but promises that failure to repay will lead to the death of his "bloodline." At the same time, Jim teaches a class of college kids about Shakespeare and Camus. His best student, Amy (Brie Larson), openly flirts with him, but he's also preoccupied with trying to get through to Lamar (Anthony Kelley), a star basketball player whom the university higher-ups want him to pass so he can continue to play..