MISSISSIPPI GRIND Review

Written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson, It's Kind of a Funny Story) Mississippi Grind is a story about an expert talker and a man who doesn't know when to stop. It's a film about the slums of gambling and the inescapable ditch you're constantly trying to crawl out of when you can't avoid the itch. In this regard, it's admirable in it's telling of certain personalities and it's perfectly in line stylistically with those it owes it's inspiration to. Whether it be The Gambler or California Split there is a distinctive 70's-inspired feel to these proceedings. Boden and Fleck have made a partnership of exploring human psyche's with crippling problems, but never have they seemed to commit to a genre so boldly. With this distinction in mind, Boden and Fleck take on this specific tone more than anything and more or less capture what they seem to be going for due mostly to two charismatic and emotionally compelling performances from Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds. The story is rather generic as Mississippi Grind quickly becomes a road movie about redemption these characters know will never be earned, but it is within this standard storytelling that the small, interesting caveats of character are born and are what continue to make the film as entertaining as it consistently is. Throughout the film Reynolds' Curtis comments on how it's not the destination, but the journey that matters most and that mantra stands true of the film as well. While this is a nice sentiment thus permitting the film to fall into certain cliche's while hovering above average with it's character development as well as the unexpected but engaging dynamic between the two leads. And yet, this oft repeated motto still doesn't allow the film, as a whole, to be anything more than an impressive experiment in nostalgia that succeeds in some areas and is only content in others. Mississippi Grind is a solid film, a movie of rhythms and textures, but it's nothing so compelling that it will stick with you.