Best film on the subject of gambling addiction The first thing you pay attention to while watching is the accuracy and realism of the behavior and motivation of the protagonist. Documentation of the events described also gives the mention of real historical facts – the match between Seattle and the Lakers, which Axel Fried bets 50 thousand, really was played in November 1970 and ended with a score of 111-110 in favor of Seattle. The same technique, for example, was later used in the movie “Buffalo 66”, where Billy Brown loses a bet and goes to prison for failing Scott Norwood in the 1991 Super Bowl final.
You immediately realize that a person who has never been in similar situations could not write such a script, make such a film. And indeed, the writer James Toback himself was involved in the world of gambling, casinos and sports betting and the script for this cult film is partly autobiographical.
The authors of the film, in my opinion, first of all set themselves the goal to show the true motivation of the protagonist, the reasons for his self-destructive, antisocial and sometimes insane behavior. Of course, in many ways they succeeded. From the list of sometimes absolutely idiotic and fantasy films on the theme of gambling and gambling addiction, the film “Player” certainly stands out, its realism bribes, and the quality of the picture and the attention of the creators to detail pleases the eye and makes you admire.