Worth the gamble

>> 21 is a decent if conventional casino thriller

by JEFFREY MALECKI

“Based on a true story” is a phrase you often find associated with films, and its effect appears calculated. The boost to truth value that these words conveys can change how a movie is viewed, and it seems that audiences are willing to grant these films more leeway.

However, the stakes are high in this gamble, as much can happen when the story bounces between truth and representation. Robert Luketic’s latest film, 21, suffers somewhat from its uncertain dalliances with and deviances from verisimilitude.

The story of six MIT students who formed a ring of blackjack card-counters in the ’90s is well known, and was exposed in the 2002 book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich. 21 tells a generally well-paced and engaging story of the rise and eventual fall of these rascally whiz-kids.

Led by a math professor (Kevin Spacey), the ring lures Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), an ambitious but quiet math star, into the scam. Flying on weekends to Las Vegas, the students return to their humble academic lives with bundles of cash stuffed into their underpants.

The film starts promisingly with intimations of eventual failure, and then takes its time developing characters and their motivations. The narrative is advanced with consideration, but increasingly succumbs to slick montages, and Las Vegas, ever the alluring setting, comes across in all its bacchanalian glory as Hollywood continues its one-dimensional glamourization of sin city.

Despite some serious plausibility gaps and later narrative hiccups, 21 glides on its acceptable performances and keen pacing to deliver a decent diversion. It does, however, seem too easy, too seamless. If the movie sticks close to the truth, then the fault lies with the banality of the events. But the original story is compelling, so the film’s deviation seems much more likely and suggests the severe imposition of convention; the unlikely hero, the betrayal of a friend, the avuncular teacher and the predictable love story are all too pat and clean.

21 could have upped the reality factor, roughed up some of the edges and taken more chances rather than relying on standard filmic principles. All that said, it’s still worth the gamble.

21 opens this Friday, March 28

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