Despite an interesting premise, Two Dollar Bettor falls well short on delivery.
The biggest problem being the main character John Hewitt, he lacks believability. John throws away his life betting on horses, without ever being interested in horse racing. Late in the film, we learn that John has just been betting on the one jockey and that's where his winnings came from and when that jockey wasn't riding, John was losing. Surely you would want to have a reason for your actions and an understanding of what's going on. When he's at the track late in the film, it's like he doesn't know anything. The race calling's also repetitive and dull.
The whole film's empty really, no depth in any of the characters. There are many scenes at home of his daughters and they're goings on, yet we don't learn anything about them. The film's fairly short and part of the problem. I see no reason why this couldn't be remade better.
The biggest problem being the main character John Hewitt, he lacks believability. John throws away his life betting on horses, without ever being interested in horse racing. Late in the film, we learn that John has just been betting on the one jockey and that's where his winnings came from and when that jockey wasn't riding, John was losing. Surely you would want to have a reason for your actions and an understanding of what's going on. When he's at the track late in the film, it's like he doesn't know anything. The race calling's also repetitive and dull.
The whole film's empty really, no depth in any of the characters. There are many scenes at home of his daughters and they're goings on, yet we don't learn anything about them. The film's fairly short and part of the problem. I see no reason why this couldn't be remade better.