The Last Bet (DVD)

...illegally are being tracked by the police. They manage to escape and set up shop elsewhere, but manage to attract the attention of Iggy, one of the police officers on their case. When he hears that his brother has committed suicide because of debts owed to the bookies, Iggy decides to seek revenge on his brother's behalf. The story is further complicated by Leon, a simple, but kindly, man, who is friends with the bookies - wanting to help a neighbour ...
...to accidentally kill one of the bookies' victims. Will the bookies manage to escape from Iggy's clutches? Will Leon manage to rescue his neighbour from death by domestic violence? And in all the madness, will Iggy's wife have their child without any complications?

I was attracted to this DVD (which is known as Lesser Prophets in the US), although I had never heard of it before, simply by the impressive cast list, including actors like ... more

Three bookies who are operating illegally are being tracked by the police. They manage to escape and set up shop elsewhere, but manage to attract the attention of Iggy, one of the police officers on their case. When he hears that his brother has committed suicide because of debts owed to the bookies, Iggy decides to seek revenge on his brother's behalf. The story is further complicated by Leon, a simple, but kindly, man, who is friends with the bookies - wanting to help a neighbour who is being regularly beaten by her man, he gets hold of a gun, which he then uses to accidentally kill one of the bookies' victims. Will the bookies manage to escape from Iggy's clutches? Will Leon manage to rescue his neighbour from death by domestic violence? And in all the madness, will Iggy's wife have their child without any complications?

I was attracted to this DVD (which is known as Lesser Prophets in the US), although I had never heard of it before, simply by the impressive cast list, including actors like John Turturro, Jimmy Smits, Amy Brenneman, Michael Badalucco and Scott Glenn. Some of these names may not be all that familiar to all; but their faces are immediately recognisable, all appearing regularly in Hollywood films and American TV series. A good cast doesn't always mean a good film though; in this case, it is an average offering, making a basically good story overly complicated by numerous story threads and massive cast list.

The one actor that stood out from all the others is John Turturro, who plays Leon. I recognise him from Monk and also O Brother Where Art Thou, but he has been in masses of films and series, often as a secondary character. As Leon, he shows that he is very capable of taking on a main role. Leon is slighly mentally deficient, to put it in a politically correct way - he is very sweet and kind, but doesn't always manage to see the evil in people. Turturro plays this completely convincingly, adding a touch of humour, but without ever turning the role into a mickey-take. He carried the film for me; without him, I don't think there would have been anything much worth watching.

George DiCenzo plays Jerry, the head bookie and all round nice man...until someone crosses him. This is a solid performance that reminded me a lot of James Gandolfini in The Sopranos, albeit with a touch of humour thrown into the mix. One of his sidekicks, played by Michael Badalucco, is also good, although not spectacular, as the more reasonable, caring associate. I wasn't so keen on Scott Glenn who plays Iggy though - he seems to have modelled himself on Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, craggy face and all, but comes off a poor second. It was good to see Amy Brenneman as Iggy's wife, although the role is so minor that it hardly seemed worth her getting up to do it.

I found the story very confusing at first, and actually had to rewind a couple of times just to work out what was going on. Nothing is really explained properly and the viewer is left to work things out, which, when there is so much going on, is no easy task. And then there are all the different threads of the film - Iggy's brother's death, Iggy's wife's pregnancy, Leon's neighbour's predicament, Leon's own predicament, the bookies' illegal operation - it just became all a bit too much crammed into a relatively short film. The massive number of people involved didn't help matters either; I barely got the chance to work out one person's role before the film moved on to the next one.

Despite the impressive cast, the whole film feels as though it was made on a budget. The set isn't anything out of the ordinary, just a series of dingy rooms and wide streets. And the music is atrocious, sounding like that jingly jangly jazz that so often seems to accompany budget films and, dare I say it, porn films. I rarely notice soundtracks, but in this case, it was so annoying that I couldn't help but notice it. Interestingly, there is a rating of 18 on this film, in the UK at least - it actually isn't that violent, so I am surprised it is not lower. Howeveer, the general tone of the film, with its gang-related violence, probably isn't something you would want young teenagers to watch.

On a more positive note, there is a lot of gentle humour in the film, and although I didn't really find myself laughing out loud, it did make me smile. And I liked the fact that, in the world of gangsters and mob violence, there is still some kindness out there - it may not have been the central part of the film, but it managed to sneak in and make itself apparent. Much of this, however, is down to John Turturro and his abilities as an actor - I would really like to see him in a more meaty role next time.

It is probably not very surprising that there are no special features with the DVD; to be honest, I'm not sure I would have wanted to watch them anyway.

I didn't expect much from this film, and as such, I wasn't all that disappointed. There are some good performances and the cheeky strand of humour really appealed to me. On the other hand, it isn't a film that is going to stay in my mind for very long, not least because of the story being so hard to follow. I bought the film for just a few pence from a car boot sale and so think I got value for money - I wouldn't want to pay too much for it though. Recommended, just don't expect anything amazing.

The DVD is available from play.com for £3.99 - I would recommend looking on Ebay for a cheaper copy if you really want to watch it.

Classification: 18

Running time: 100 minutes 

...less