Can you believe it’s been eight long years since the release of The Water Diviner, Russell Crowe’s feature directing debut? If you’ve hankering to see what ol’ Maximus can do behind the camera for his second at-bat, your wait is over, because Poker Face is hitting New Zealand cinemas on December 1.
Where The Water Diviner was a big-hearted historical drama, Poker Face is shaping up to be more of a white-knuckle psychological thriller. Crowe stars as tech billionaire (so, evil, then) Jake Foley, who brings together a group of his old friends (well, frenemies) for a high stakes poker game at his palatial Miami estate. But this isn’t just a fun game night: Jake has a sinister agenda, naturally, and when someone turns up dead it seems the stakes are higher than anyone ever expected.
Crow has assembled quite the cast for this one, with Liam Hemsworth, Elsa Pataky, RZA, and excitingly, Jacqueline Mckenzie all taking major roles—Mckenzie not only cropped up in The Water Diviner, she starred opposite Crowe in Romper Stomper, his breakout film, back in 1992, so she’s a bit of a good luck charm for Rusty.
Good lord, that was 30 years ago. Ahem. Also in the mix are Aussie faves Matt Nable and Steve Bastoni.
There have been some great gambling movies over the years: The Gambler, Casino, Mississippi Grind, California Split, and Molly’s Game, come immediately to mind, and that’s just scratching the surface. Will Poker Face join their ranks? No reviews have been published since the film had its world premiere at the Rome Film Festival on October 16, which could mean anything. Is Crowe keeping his cards close to his vest? Is he bluffing or holding pocket aces? Do we go all in before the river? If you understood any of those terms, Poker Face is probably worth a gamble.
