Fate is unpredictable and what starts as a bad day might end up like something quite good. This is the experience of the protagonist in the opening scenes of Luck of the Draw, 2000 crime drama directed by Luca Bercovici. After two years spent in prison because of burglary Jack Sweeney (played by James Marshall) is ready to start new life as an honest citizen. He comes to the bank to apply for the job of teller but, unsurprisingly, gets turned down because of his criminal past. His visit to bank, however, wasn’t for nothing. First, he met attractive teller Rebecca Johnson (played by Wendy Benson) and, second, he found himself at the right place and the right time. A massive gunfight erupts in front of the bank due to local mobster Giani Ponti (played by Dennis Hopper) attempting to steal money printing plates from his partners. Bloodshed, which also involves federal agents led by Max Fenton (played by William Fenton), becomes pointless when the plates, that could allow perfect and undetectable counterfeit money bills, end in Jack’s hands. He tries to sell the plates through his old crime associate Zippo (played by Michael Madsen), which draws attention of Macneilly (played by Ice T), another crime boss. In the meantime, original owners hire a hitman (played by Patrick Kilpatrick) to kill Jack and retrieve the valuable plates.
Luca Bercovici is actor known mostly for supporting and character roles, but he also had long career as producer and director. Most of his films were of low budget variety and most were distributed direct-to-video. Luck of the Draw might give some idea why it was so. Best described as low budget mix of Heat and Pulp Fiction, it doesn’t feature anything particularly original in the plot. Like with many B-films, attempt to provide serious content fails but, either by design or accident, this film turns into comedy or unintentional self-parody. Audience with low expectations and fondness for unpretentious entertainment could quite easily appreciate Luck of the Draw. Much of the credit must go to surprisingly strong cast which include many notable names that have built their careers by playing larger-than-life villains. Dennis Hopper, arguably the best known among actors, had his efforts complemented by formidable performances by Michael Madsen, William Forsythe, Ice T and Eric Roberts. Even James Marshall appeared to have a lot of fun making the film. The most pleasant surprise comes from Wendy Benson, actress who previously made good impression in her guest appearance as murderous teenager Margi Kleinjan in “Syzygy”, one of the classic episodes of The X-Files. She proves that the role can be good even if the rest of the film doesn’t contain much common sense.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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