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The Music of Chance

Play trailer The Music of Chance R 1993 1h 38m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A yuppie (Mandy Patinkin) and a drifter (James Spader) lose at poker at a mansion and are put to work building a stone wall.

Critics Reviews

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Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader The main thing the movie has going for it is the acting–juicy performances by the five male leads ... Rated: 2/4 Jun 6, 2022 Full Review Empire Magazine Rated: 4/5 Dec 30, 2006 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times The Music of Chance is one of those movies you can argue about for hours. It refuses to reveal its meaning, yet seems convinced it has one. Rated: 3/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Malcolm Johnson Hartford Courant As it moves towards its fatalistic, circular ending, Haas' austere, matter-of-fact but unnerving portrait of strange bedfellows takes on the feeling of life in all of its isolation, hope and endless, meaningless toil. Apr 13, 2018 Full Review Quentin Curtis Independent on Sunday The film is a brilliantly enigmatic examination of luck, the feeling we have of some harmony or order governing our fate. Dec 12, 2017 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews The oddball tale is so well-acted that it seems like a neglected minor gem. Rated: B Jun 6, 2017 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Richard T What of the most unexpectedly beautiful, dark original films I've ever seen. Can't speak highly enough about it Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/10/24 Full Review Audience Member This is a dark but absolutely brilliant movie. I don't understand why it has become so obscure. Because of this movie I started reading Paul Auster's books, and I'm a confirmed fan. The movie is very true to the book... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member This funny was very funny Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member A true gem of a movie. and one of the most underated films of the 90's. Great performances all round. Not to be missed. Its about a couple of mates who loose a game of poker I seem to remember, and they dont have enough cash to cover the debt. So instead they agree to finish bulding a wall in the garden of the guy's house, and unbeknown to them they become prisoner and it all turns nasty. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Incredibly interesting, but dark and weird and cold and full of symbols and stuff I probably wouldn't figure out in a million years. Two people, aimlessly drifting through life, meet each other and decide to win some money at a poker game against a couple of rich guys who one of them beat many years before...but that's only the first half hour of the film, and things get much stranger after that. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Don't really know why this film is so good... nothing actually happens, they play poker and build a wall. That's it! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Music of Chance

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The Music of Chance

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Movie Info

Synopsis A yuppie (Mandy Patinkin) and a drifter (James Spader) lose at poker at a mansion and are put to work building a stone wall.
Director
Philip Haas
Producer
Frederick Zollo, Dylan Sellers
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 38m