Gambling City - the blurb on the back of the Noshame DVD makes this sound slightly light and whimsical but, whilst there are some humorous elements to this, I found it to be more aligned with the grittier crime thrillers of the time and all the better for it! This follows the exploits of Luca, a card shark operating in the Milanese underworld who finds himself mixed up with the local 'Mr Big' and embarks on an affair with 'Mr Big junior's' girlfriend and predictably runs into trouble. The plot is fairly generic but quite compelling with well drawn characters and an excellent central performance from Luca Merda, whose character could have been smug and irritating but is played with a commendable amount of light and shade. There are also some great action sequences, which are superbly directed by Sergio Martino and are surprisingly violent in parts and a memorably bleak ending. Well recommended if you can get hold of the Noshame DVD for a half decent price.
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