Even Money

The multicharacter arc of the successful 2005 Oscar winner for Best Picture Crash is now being widely imitated. The latest, Even Money, is an all-star look at gambling addiction. With multiple story lines and savvy direction by Hollywood veteran Mark Rydell, this is the kind of strong and intelligent adult drama that until Crash's triumph was becoming an endangered species in Hollywood. The film follows the lives of nine people caught up in the seedy world of gambling—a woman (Kim Basinger) who bets her family's security on the slots and keeps it a secret from her husband (Ray Liotta), a janitor (Forest Whitaker) who involves his younger brother (Nick Cannon) in an illegal effort to fix a basketball game, and another woman (Carla Gugino) who falls in with the violent end of the sordid business through a star-crossed romantic relationship. All of these stories eventually cross paths, but, without giving away too much, there is no jackpot awaiting these desperate lost souls. And that seems to be the film's point. Although it's too slowly paced for its own good, this penetrating look at misguided people who let their weaknesses overwhelm them is validated by it's superb cast, led by Whitaker and Basinger. Tim Roth as a ruthless criminal and Danny DeVito as a sympathetic lounge magician are also standouts. Overall, Even Money is a winning bet at the movies.