Losing Ground (2005)

Do not confuse this with the first result when you look up the title. It has nothing to do with the 1982 Kathleen Collins pic. Instead, it's an indie based on a play by the director, Bryan Wizemann, who's not known for much else. And it sure feels like an adaptation from a one-act play, taking place almost entirely in one room, in 90 minutes of real time, with a total cast of seven (one gone so quickly he's almost pointless).

That room is a former Irish pub converted into a run-down video poker bar in Vegas. Several machines, gaming or otherwise, don't work properly, and few resources are diverted to atmospheric amenities like lighting. Guess what most of the patrons are like. There's not much of a plot; we primarily watch them hit buttons, drink, and talk.

You'd think there'd be a whole lot of talk for our sake, but the bartender, Kieran, is pretty laconic, and patrons are frequently content to keep to themselves. The dialog is hardly quotable. Once in a while, we get a little background music to fill the quiet, including one round of the jukebox; the rest of the time, there's none. Wizemann must come from the school that favors realism over entertainment.

This is not to say that nothing interesting happens. We get some intensity from those who badly want to win. One man tests Kieran's professionalism by jealously dating his ex and being an obstreperous sore loser. I half expected violence to break out (no such, eh, luck). In the end, we learn how even Kieran isn't at a great place in life nowadays.

I cheated a little in the tags: The film was never rated by the MPAA, presumably because it saw limited release and remains obscure (only 31 votes, however high the average, on IMDb after 12 years). But it would surely have gotten an R in the U.S., thanks to language, cocaine use, and one brief instance of desperate prostitution in the restroom. Just as well; it clearly wouldn't appeal to kids anyway, and without these elements, the adults might be almost as bored.

The main things I got out of LG are a mild education with regard to gambling language and customs and a reaffirmation that I should be glad to have no desire to join that scene. If you like a highly credible drama at a low simmer, check it out, but I'll be relieved to return to Hollywood fare.