The Big Blind (1999)
When writer/director of “The Big Blind” envisioned this film, he decided to give the movie a “Pulp Fiction” feel to it. He abandoned the idea of a linear story line in favor of a story with multiple plot lines that only intersect at various points. For those who are used to Rounders, The Sting, and other such films, this might seem like a very unusual approach, but in the case of this movie, it works.
The movie begins before it was even made. Director David James is himself, in every sense of the word, a rounder. Though he is a coinsurer of the cash game, he can be seen often hanging around World Series of Poker events like a three toes sloth hanging from a branch. In short, poker is one of his passions. This love of the game combined with his history and knowledge gives the movie a realism that is rare in poker films.
The film centers around the Lake Elsinore casino. James artfully laces these vignettes together to paint a cinematic picture about the happenings in and around the poker world.
As anyone who has been to a casino knows, the personalities who surround the game of poker are at the very least, diverse. This fact is not lost in the film. Instead of keying on the typical stereotype of the gambler, David James creates a number of unusual and quirky characters. This is truly an example of art imitating life.
The “Big Blind” is not so focused on the game itself, but on the unusual atmosphere that seems to only exist in a casino. The realism that comes shining through this film leaves one with the feeling that the depicted events could be happening at your local casino at this very moment.
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