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Format: VHS
Jan 1994
Rated R
Recording Mode: (unknown)
Closed Captioned
98 min. |
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Details
Movie Description
A man on a yearlong road trip across the U.S. teams up with a young card shark against two rich amateurs in a game of poker that seems to represent the opportunity of a lifetime. But things don't turn out quite as planned for the partners when, after losing all their money, they find themselves at the mercy of their opponents. In order to work off the debt, they become involved in an absurd and ultimately dangerous scenario from which there seems to be no escape. THE MUSIC OF CHANCE is a subtly gripping drama about luck, fate, and consequence.
Synopsis
James Nashe (Mandy Patinkin), a man who has been aimlessly driving around the country for a year, trying to regain control of his life, picks up a bruised and ragged drifter by the side of the road one day. The drifter, Jack Pozzi (James Spader) turns out to be a seedy young poker player, down on his luck but hoping to strike it rich after winning against two eccentric millionaires who have invited him to a game at their posh mansion. In a spontaneous decision, Nashe elects to accompany Pozzi and puts up his own meager savings to back him in the game. But what appeared to be a sure thing ends up going horribly wrong for the partners, and they lose everything. Their opponents propose a preposterous payback scheme: Pozzi and Nashe are to remain on the estate and erect a wall from the ruins of an old Irish castle. Left with no alternative, the two men agree, unaware that they are in for far more than they bargained. The film, based on Paul Auster's existentialist novel, is laden with symbolism and a growing sense of menace as the story progresses--an engrossing, atmospheric debut feature from director Philip Haas.
Film Notes
THE MUSIC OF CHANCE was shown at the 1993 New Directors/New Films Series of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
Shot on location in North Carolina and New York City.
Author Paul Auster has a cameo appearance as a motorist.
Industry Reviews
"...Cool, methodical....[Filled] with supreme, piquant clarity..."
New York Times - p.C25 - Janet Maslin (03/19/1993)
"...Spader turns in a notably vivacious performance..."
Sight and Sound - p.47-8 - Verina Glaessner (04/01/1994)
"...Deeply unsettling stuff and compulsively watchable..." -- Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly - p.58 - Lawrence O'Toole (01/21/1994)
"...An outstanding cast, a coolly confident style and quirky literary material turn THE MUSIC OF CHANCE into an auspicious feature debut for documentary filmmaker Philip Haas..."
Variety - Todd McCarthy (01/25/1993)
"...The acting is all perfectly straightforward, the details are there to be seen, the wall is eventually built, and yet when you try to add up all the details, they seem elusive as life itself..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (09/24/1993)
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