Southern Gothic

I was drawn to Double Down South by Lila Simmonds whom I thought was the sexiest woman I had ever seen when she was in the fantastic series Banshee. I also enjoy Kim Coates from Sons of Anarchy. And the gambling film genre is full of really good films and barely any bad ones. Furthermore I had never heard of the Keno variation of pool. The entire supporting cast was absolutely excellent. The entire film takes place on a run down old Southern estate that is owned by the the villain of the story. Nick, played by Kim Coates. I was not fooled by any of the stories twists, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. This is just a solid popcorn film with not a boring frame and a fun and different story. Maybe I graded it slightly high because I felt it deserved an audience, let 's call it a 7.5, but If any of the aforementioned elements of the film sound intriguing to you, you really should give it a watch.

In rural Georgia, skilled billiards player Diana (Lili Simmons) drives up to a secret Keno pool gambling house. It is an old mouldy plantation mansion run by Nick (Kim Coates). Diana seems to be new to Keno, but Nick seizes the opportunity to take her under his wing.

I have never seen this game being played and it is fascinating. I really like this tiny little world. This game seems set up for the night to end in violence. It is crazy to keep doubling the bet without the ability to stop it. Once the DuBinion flashback happens, the twist becomes rather obvious. The more improbable twist would be for the story to go straight. Maybe, Lili shouldn't do the generalized southern accent. She could be a Canadian tourist traveling the States looking for the perfect pool experience. I do like some of the reveal although some do need a bit of changing. All in all, I like this little world even if it is clunky at times.

Firstly, I am shocked that this has no reviews but then I saw after the fact that this was a film festival entry, Its not about pool but about a game I had heard of called Keno and honestly thought was a card game so I mention pool in the title as if you like films Pool/snooker based, you will like this film.

Its darker than the other obvious entries in this genre, I wont list them all, if you are reading, you likely know them, from the hustler, colour of money etc.

This is not like those, this has a story that's a bit more violent although there isn't a lot of actual violence in the film, its spoken about but not really seen.

It can be a little rough around the edges, a couple of parts of the plot are rushed, I think its because the storyline is too much for the time allowed, 2 hours felt like 4 hours but in a good way because it crams quite a lot within the time story wise.

On the whole the acting was good, there was the odd moment where things didn't quite seem fitting for certain characters but not enough to take away the enjoyment.

The story itself, no spoilers, I found the plot early on to be a little predictable as to where it was heading but not overtly so, I have seen so many films and after a while you can predict to an extent, the average film goer will likely not predict like I did, that's not any kind of boast, its just an experience thing that comes from watching way too many films.

If you like sport/gambling films and like them combined with a thriller element of which I personally have never seen combined so well, this really will be enjoyable for you, the actual pool shots are somewhat limited but what there are of them aren't totally amateurish like some sports films where the actors clearly have had no skill or training in the actual sport, in this case Pool/Keno, the players do "play" like they can but this is not the film to watch if that's all you want to see, great shots, long games etc.

I think this will go down as a cult classic gem of a movie that sadly will never get the audience it deserves.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, I would give an 8/10 if it wasn't for the few slight... not negatives,, but points I have made, To finish, I have a tendency to rate films 1 star lower than the actual IMDB rating, maybe I am a harsh critic I dont know? But worth pointing out as while I rate this a 7, I would also say it falls in the 7-8 range based on this, but then again in this particular case I have rated slightly higher than the IMDB rating, probably because of my bias, this kind of film is my genre.... so take all of this as subjective as any reviews should be, and thank you to all involved in this film. I went in with low expectations and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sorry for rambling, I am quite passionate about good films that clearly have not garnered the attention I believe they deserve.

Double Down South is full of great south of the line vibe. The setting accents, style and characters are all there but unfortunately the story or rather the lack of it drags it down. It seems the writers could not decide if this was a family fun movie or something a bit more serious. Great potential, great actors especially Diana and Nick just a lousy story to make one choke on their grits.

The level of mysogyny was a bit over the top and seemed to make the crew cringe when delivering their lines along with the audience and was really un-necessary to support the story line and theme..

The twist at the end was signaled a long way off and as the real bad guys left the scene and everyone else became the best of friends the tale ended. Its not a blockbuster doesnt't try to be the setting was almost perfect and lead did the best theyy coud with the material.

Double Down South is a gritty gambling film reminiscent of everything from The Hustler to Mississippi Grind. Lili Simmons shines as a tough-talking billiards ace thrown into the crazy world of a game that's as much about luck as skill. Kim Coates is creepy and menacing as the owner of the dilapidated plantation house where the underground games take place. The plot takes twists and turns that I did not see coming, and the cast of grimy good ole boys are always a delight to watch. Tom Schulman is a screenwriter known for several iconic films, and it's fun to see his efforts from the director's chair in this one.