Mendelsohn’s really on form in Mississippi Grind. It’s a two-handed road trip drama with Ryan Reynolds as the other hand, and it’s remarkable just how well the two one another. Mendelsohn’s Gerry is a note-perfect creation: a 40-something, divorced real estate agent trying to sell houses in a run-down part of Iowa. Gerry’s also a gambling addict, and from his ruffled hair to his battered coat, you can tell he’s been on a losing streak for quite a while. Gerry and Curtis’s lives revolve around games. They play darts, they bet on dogs and horses. They play poker and craps and slot machines. They hustle towering basketball players in shabby courts with mixed results. The nearer to New Orleans they get, the more we learn about Gerry and his sorry history; his estranged wife, the daughter he hasn’t seen in years. There’s a reflective tone to Mississippi Grind, written and directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson, Sugar), its study of addiction and self-destruction recalling Mike Figgis’ Leaving Las Vegas. The sense of desolation runs deep, from its settings – grimy bars, motels, casinos and grill houses – to the exhausted look in Gerry’s eyes. But the sombre air’s leavened by the duo’s friendship and a light, natural streak of humour. As a character piece, Mississippi Grind is more honest and nuanced than The Gambler, Rupert Wyatt’s similarly-themed drama from earlier this year. Where that film couldn’t help but showboat, Fleck and Boden’s film is less grandiose. The glibness of Wahlberg’s leading turn in The Gambler is entirely absent from Mendelsohn or Reynolds’ performances. Where Wahlberg wore shades and cut us off, Curtis and Gerry can’t hide their inner turmoil. There’s a great moment where Gerry plays Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie on the piano to a young escort (Analeigh Tipton, who’s great in this whole scene), and says to her, simply, “I have money problems.” She replies, “I’m going to do something with my life.” Mississippi Grind is a believable, gently funny depiction of two lost souls who are united by the belief that what they’re looking for is a big win to dig them out of their financial hell; what they’re really looking for is the next hit – the rush of adrenaline they can only find from the roll of the dice. Mississippi Grind is out in UK cinemas on the 23rd October. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.