‘Down to the Felt’ Movie Review: A Decent Addition to the Poker Movie Collection

By: Jeffery McMillan

The new poker movie Down to the Felt is a decent addition to the archive of poker flicks. It faithfully adapts the game and crafts a narrative that uses poker as a metaphor for life. The movie is a brisk 90-minute affair that involves a hitman, a professional gambler, and several side characters. Directed by Jon Osbeck, it was released on Oct. 17 on AppleTV and can be viewed there or on Google Play Movies.

Set in Columbus, Ohio, Down to the Felt stars Michael Stahl-David as Paul, a professional gambler who has hit a bad stretch. His downswing becomes so severe that he arranges for a hitman, played by Michael Weston, to kill him in two weeks so that his family can collect an insurance windfall.

Paul then experiences an upswing both on and off the felt that has him reconsidering the deal.

Warning: mild spoilers below.

Poker Jargon Prevalant

Since poker rarely has a thematic role in movies, with only a few notable examples, it is worth evaluating how each film portrays it.

Down to the Felt sets the stage by showing Paul as a semi-professional gambler. Poker is merely part of his hustle, as he also has a day job.

At the start of the film, he loses $40,000 in what looks like a home game. Somehow, word quickly spreads around Columbus that he lost such an amount. Several people give him grief about it the following day. He also loses a big bet on a New York Knicks game, and his entire world begins crumbling.

The mounting financial hits lead to the deal with the hitman.

Paul frequently uses poker lingo, from “bad beat” to saying he’s “on tilt.”

Some of the jargon sounds a bit odd, like when one character has the nickname “Mr. Four-of-a-Kind.”

“Maybe I should play poker,” Paul’s boss says at one point. “I can read you like a ****ing book. When you win, you’re early. When you lose, you’re late. I think that’s what you call a tell.”

How Accurate is Down to the Felt’s Poker Action?

Poker takes center stage in a pivotal scene in which Paul meets his love interest, Erica (played by Scottie Thompson). Down to the Felt depicts her as a regular who plays recreationally and travels frequently for work.

The two eventually butt heads in a key hand. The board reads K♥7♥J♣Q♥. Paul flirts with Erica while using technical poker speak:

You’re raising the flop and check here on the turn. Are you slow playing me? Because I’ll tell you right now I’ve got the straight but I’m thinking you’ve got hearts.”

Erica fires back with:

Go ahead and bet your straight, that is, unless you’re bluffing. I’ll call you anyway.”

But there is no action taken from either player before the camera shows the dealer reveal a board-pairing J♠ on the river. A board-pairing card would normally change the dynamics of such a hand in this scenario, but neither player pays any attention to that development. They remain focused on the straight vs. flush battle.

Despite there already being three hearts on board, Paul says:

Wrong suit, but pretty sure it doesn’t match your shoes.”

Erica says “cute” and tosses out an undisclosed bet amount which just Paul calls. Erica shows 10♥6♥ for the flush which beats Paul’s straight. Paul says he put Erica on a flush draw.

Overall, the poker plays out pretty credibly and stands in stark contrast to many pivotal movie scenes that depict absurd coolers and outrageous bluffs.

Humor and Good Directing Contribute to Movie’s Quality

After the poker scene, which happens about a third of the way into the movie, the film steers away from the game as the main focus. In-depth poker takes a backseat, as montages come to forefront as a way to depict the action.

Hitman David takes center stage for awhile, struggling to reconcile his life choices with his Jewish faith.

Paul, meanwhile, tries to forget that the clock continues ticking on his timeline with David even as things turn for the better in his life. Paul’s consistent self-deprecating humor stands out throughout, keeping even the serious moments funny.

The film ultimately ends rather abruptly in a tight 90 minutes after a final twist.

From a cinematography standpoint, one can tell it is a low-budget flick. That doesn’t stop Osbeck from using a few clever tricks of the camera to increase suspense and subvert expectations at times.

Poker as a Metaphor For Life

Director Osbeck described the movie as more than just about poker or gambling:

Down to the Felt came from a desire to explore what happens when you’re all-in emotionally, not just at the poker table.”

The movie draws consistent parallels between Paul’s life and his poker games. Paul goes “all in” with his life and needs a miracle card of sorts to save him. He has to read people at the table and in life, which figures prominently into the twist at the end.

Down to the Felt is a 3.5 out of 5 stars movie for me, a solid B grade. It centers on poker enough to be considered a poker movie while making the game a fitting metaphor for life.

It makes an effort to use proper poker terms without being too jargon-heavy for a mainstream audience. Cinematically, it is a tight, cleverly crafted film with some decent, light-hearted performances from the actors.

However, It does not delve deep enough into the characters or the issues to produce anything more than a surface-level experience, as it often undercuts the heavier themes with humor and whimsy. And the last act feels rushed, coming to a somewhat clumsy twist ending that prevents the movie from attaining a higher score.

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