Betting Men, Pt. 1 - The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

Inspired by the Safdie brothers’ new thriller UNCUT GEMS, we’re traveling back to 1976, and the other side of the country, to look at another film about a gambling man at the end of his rope, made by one of the Safdies’ favorite filmmakers: John Cassavetes’ idiosyncratic take on the gangster genre, THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE. In this half of our pairing about bad bets with bad people, we dig into CHINESE BOOKIE’s seeming delight in setting up expectations it has no intention of satisfying, how we’re meant to process our protagonist’s aspirations and art on their own and in relation to Cassavetes himself, and how the film invites different, even opposing, readings of its main character and his motivations. Plus, our discussion of MARRIAGE STORY continues to generate some very strong, and very long, feedback.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE, UNCUT GEMS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “What’s Yr Take on Cassavetes?” by Le Tigre

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