Dirty Trip - Blu-ray

Film: Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn) is a loser as they come: He is addicted to gambling, constantly broke, heavily in debt and lives apart from his wife and young daughter. Whenever he wins a few dollars, he loses three times as much a short time later. But this is to be an end now. Gerry dreams of winning big at a poker game in New Orleans and paying off his debts. Maybe then he can also build a relationship with his daughter. But to enter the tournament, he needs 25,000 dollars. A lost cause - until Gerry meets the charming Curtis (Ryan Reynolds). The drifter seems to bring Gerry luck, as in his presence he rakes in one win after another. And so the two men embark on a journey together along the Mississippi River to New Orleans, to the end of their own personal rainbow. But it's not long before Gerry is left to seriously wonder if his dream of happiness isn't just an illusion after all.

Dirty Trip is a rousing character study about a gambling addict who desperately clings to the hope that after winning big, he'll have a chance at a new life that he won't gamble away again. The problem with gambler movies in general is that they usually center around broken, unsympathetic characters. That's the case here, too. Gerry may not be a bad guy at heart. But his gambling addiction repeatedly brings very unpleasant character traits to light. As an audience member, it's generally hard to give such characters the sympathy necessary to be captivated by the story.

Fortunately, lead actor Ben Mendelsohn (Slow West, The Dark Knight Rises) does a very good job of giving Gerry enough facets to make him a very interesting character despite his many negative traits. Unlike, say, Mark Wahlberg's player in The Gambler, whose penchant for self-destruction kept the audience rather emotionally distant, Gerry still shows enough sympathetic sides, especially in his interactions with Curtis, but also in a scene with his ex-wife, that you actually wish he could make the jump and become a good father to his daughter. But Ryan Reynolds also delivers a really good performance. He gradually lifts the facade of the carefree bon vivant, exposing a very layered character that Reynolds embodies with convincing restraint.

But the secret star of the film is the American Southern Providence, captured here in a very Hollywood-unusual way. The America shown by the directing duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck feels unadorned, authentic, and extremely engaging for that very reason. The imagery immerses the film in a very special atmosphere that provides a stirring counterbalance to the very worn narrative flow. In combination with a light pinch of humor, this prevents the viewer from getting bored. If you like American independent cinema in general and can get involved with the somewhat unwieldy storytelling and the not exactly easy to grasp characters, you'll get very well acted and hauntingly staged entertainment of the more demanding kind. Clearly a: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation of the Blu-Ray is on a pleasantly high level. The image sharpness is very good and allows even small details and textures to come to the fore. The coloration looks very warm and natural and also the tuning of black levels and contrasts support the positive overall impression of the picture quality. The same can be said for the sound. Although there is no big effects fireworks due to the genre, yet the surround channels are repeatedly claimed by atmospheric ambient sounds and minor sound effects, resulting in an overall very coherent sound carpet. Very Good!

Extras: In addition to the trailer for the film and an extensive interview with Ryan Reynolds (approx. 22:56 min.), the disc has promo clips on Ben Mendelsson (approx. 2:42 min.), Ryan Reynolds (approx. 2:42 min.), the cast (approx. 3:04 min.), the directors (approx. 3:17 min.), as well as the making of the film (approx. 4:43 min.).

Conclusion: Dirty Trip is a stirring portrait of a down-and-out gambler who, through a new acquaintance, sees the opportunity has come to finally be allowed to walk down life's winning road and start over. Superbly acted by Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds, the film is primarily captivating with quiet character moments that are slow paced but never boringly staged. If you like quieter character studies with some light humorous interludes, you should not miss this road trip of a different kind. The Blu-ray is technically convincing, the bonus material, however, is a little sparse. Overall, however, it is clearly enough for a: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp