The Music of Chance (film)
Encyclopedia
The Music of Chance is a 1993 American
drama film
directed by Philip Haas
. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard
section at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival
. It is based on the book of the same name
.
He picks up a hitchhiker, Jack Pozzi, who turns out to be a professional gambler. Pozzi tells how he just lost $10,000 to a pair of eccentric old millionaires in a poker game, simply through a bad stroke of luck. With money and time to spare, the intrigued Nashe offers to back Pozzi with $10,000 for a rematch.
The wealthy men, Flower and Stone, live together on a huge estate. They willingly agree to another game, but are not the suckers Pozzi takes them for. They win again. Nashe puts up his car as collateral against the cash if Flower and Stone will cut cards, winner take all. Nashe loses.
No clear alternative exists except to work off the debt. The quirky Flower and Stone have a pile of 10,000 heavy stones, said to be from a 15th Century castle originally. They would like to build a wall on their property, so they tell Nashe and Pozzi that if they devote the next 50 days to erecting the wall, their debt will be paid in full.
A foreman named Calvin Murks keeps an eye on the two men. Nashe methodically goes about his task, carrying the stone, but Pozzi becomes increasingly unhinged, feeling like a slave. Pozzi takes offense at a snide remark by Murks and assaults him, whereupon Murks begins coming to work armed with a gun.
Pozzi attempts to escape. His badly beaten body is found. Nashe can't be sure who did this, although Murks seems a likely suspect. Pozzi eventually disappears and Nashe fears that he's dead. He privately decides to get even, the best way he knows how.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Philip Haas
Philip Haas
Philip Haas is an American artist and filmmaker. His exhibition of film installations at the Kimbell Art Museum, "Butchers, Dragons, Gods and Skeletons," was listed by TIME magazine as one of the top ten museum shows of 2009 Retrospectives of his art films have been held at the Tate Gallery in...
. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...
section at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival
1993 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :* Louis Malle * Claudia Cardinale * Inna Churikova * Judy Davis * Abbas Kiarostami * Emir Kusturica * William Lubtchansky * Tom Luddy * Gary Oldman * Augusto M...
. It is based on the book of the same name
The Music of Chance
The Music of Chance is an absurdist novel by Paul Auster about the meaninglessness of the universe. In 1993, it was made into a film; Mandy Patinkin played Nashe and James Spader played Pozzi.-Plot summary:...
.
Plot
Jim Nashe worked as a fireman, but a large inheritance and a divorce from his wife has left him free to buy a new car and see the country at his leisure.He picks up a hitchhiker, Jack Pozzi, who turns out to be a professional gambler. Pozzi tells how he just lost $10,000 to a pair of eccentric old millionaires in a poker game, simply through a bad stroke of luck. With money and time to spare, the intrigued Nashe offers to back Pozzi with $10,000 for a rematch.
The wealthy men, Flower and Stone, live together on a huge estate. They willingly agree to another game, but are not the suckers Pozzi takes them for. They win again. Nashe puts up his car as collateral against the cash if Flower and Stone will cut cards, winner take all. Nashe loses.
No clear alternative exists except to work off the debt. The quirky Flower and Stone have a pile of 10,000 heavy stones, said to be from a 15th Century castle originally. They would like to build a wall on their property, so they tell Nashe and Pozzi that if they devote the next 50 days to erecting the wall, their debt will be paid in full.
A foreman named Calvin Murks keeps an eye on the two men. Nashe methodically goes about his task, carrying the stone, but Pozzi becomes increasingly unhinged, feeling like a slave. Pozzi takes offense at a snide remark by Murks and assaults him, whereupon Murks begins coming to work armed with a gun.
Pozzi attempts to escape. His badly beaten body is found. Nashe can't be sure who did this, although Murks seems a likely suspect. Pozzi eventually disappears and Nashe fears that he's dead. He privately decides to get even, the best way he knows how.
Cast
- James SpaderJames SpaderJames Todd Spader is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, and Secretary...
- Jack Pozzi - Mandy PatinkinMandy PatinkinMandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...
- Jim Nashe - M. Emmet WalshM. Emmet WalshMichael Emmet Walsh is an American actor who has appeared in over 100 film and television productions.-Life and career:Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Agnes Kathrine and Harry Maurice Walsh, Sr., a customs agent...
- Calvin Murks - Charles DurningCharles DurningCharles Durning is an American actor. With appearances in over 100 films, Durning's memorable roles include police officers in the Oscar-winning The Sting and crime drama Dog Day Afternoon , along with the comedies Tootsie, To Be Or Not To Be and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the last two...
- Bill Flower - Joel GreyJoel GreyJoel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
- Willy Stone - Samantha MathisSamantha MathisSamantha Mathis is an American actress. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in Pump Up the Volume , opposite Christian Slater...
- Tiffany - Chris PennChris PennChristopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider.-Early life:Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn,...
- Floyd - Pearl Jones - Louise
- Jordan Spainhour - Floyd Jr.
- Paul AusterPaul AusterPaul Benjamin Auster is an American author known for works blending absurdism, existentialism, crime fiction and the search for identity and personal meaning in works such as The New York Trilogy , Moon Palace , The Music of Chance , The Book of Illusions and The Brooklyn Follies...
- Driver