My top 10 from 2015 is getting harder and harder to pin down. There isn’t one bad scene in Mississippi Grind, the new film from Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, who previously crafted the masterful baseball/immigrant drama Sugar (and before that the harrowing Ryan Gosling on crack drama Half-Nelson). In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it’s a virtually faultless piece of work; upon first glance, I have absolutely zero to quibble about in terms of the decisions made by the filmmakers. It’s true that there’ll be flashier, more heavily promoted films than this one, but when a movie works as well as this one does, you must take notice. Actor of the moment Ben Mendelsohn can do no wrong; he’s immediately engaging, and here, stripped of his customary forehead grease and sweat, he’s able to create a character who we want to see win, something mostly new for him as an actor. He’s been in huge demand of late (peek his IMDB credits as they’re just insane…) but it’s always for the skeevy-drugged-out bad-guy or henchmen; in Mississippi Grind, he’s as close to “leading man” as he’s been allowed to get and he’s wonderful and warm and even affable. Ryan Reynolds was used perfectly here — as the colorful support — and he nails every single scene. His usual brand of cockiness is on full display here, getting lots of mileage out of facial gestures and his immaculate line delivery. The plot hinges on a degenerate gambler (Mendelsohn), who becomes convinced that his new friend (Reynolds) is the ultimate lucky rabbit’s foot. The two guys hit the road and embark on a trip to a high-stakes poker game in New Orleans, with all sorts of detours along the way. There’s an unforced sense of style to this film, akin to an effort from the 70’s (it’s been said that this movie was conceived as a riff on Robert Altman’s California Split), with cinematographer Andrij Parekh boldly shooting in 2.35:1 widescreen but never sacrificing intimacy. The ending is well earned and smartly calibrated on a creative level, there are a few nice twists along the way, and Sienna Miller and Alfre Woodard show up in juicy peripheral roles. This is one of the best movies from 2015, a simple story told in an honest, upfront manner, without the need for contrived stupidity or a dumbing-down of any of the elements. I absolutely loved every single moment of Mississippi Grind, and I have a feeling it’ll become a movie I revisit often. We Can’t Lose POWER.
Podcasting Them Softly 