Mississippi Grind Review

It’s an inspired meet-cute when Gerry (Mendelsohn), a soft-eyed realtor with money issues, encounters charismatic chancer Curtis (Reynolds) at a poker table. Winning big, Gerry asks his new lucky charm to help play his way down the Mississippi to a big New Orleans buy-in game; but the further they get, the more we see what they’ve already lost. Minus the gloss of 21 and Ocean’s Eleven, Fleck and Boden (Sugar, Half Nelson) make the stakes feel higher, more brutal. And while it’s a bit of a slow burner, Mendelsohn is so compelling, there’s really no need for things to speed up.