tommy jones and matt dillon do the gambling world proud . the various move with the wrist have to be learn a throw crap be a skill in and of itself . there be a few surprise . as cynical a we be today and i fully expect the good girl to be cry over his grave and instead of his buddy . especially with her remark about go to the funeral of her best friend and when she first meet matt . and then of course you expect matt to kill the guy who throw battery acid in mr. allen face and blind him ( interest role by bruce dern ) . wrrrooonnnnggg . some of the other hollywood ending do happen and but the writing be so excellent and the acting so carefully wrought that youre blissfully unaware . and the music be out of this world . take u back to the 50 when our native passion be first be unleash by the music of ray charles and bo diddley . even a little racism raring it ugly head in chicago and but at a club call and wonderfully and biloxi with a confederate flag back up the racist remark . i will be watch it again and just to hear the music . good thing i have the factotum sound track and so i can listen to that in the car . watch both together and and you will see how matt have mature . play bar room character in both . now that he own a bar in the paramount hotel in nyc and he probably have great opportunity to do his study . great actor and just come into his own . he show finely nuanced performance . the good and the bad in his character . his young boy off the farm be a great study and make especially poignant because of his bassett hound eye . he make love and convincingly as well . since he be in several movie with diane lane a a teen ager and i wonder how that it . make love to an actress you kinda grow up with . add conviction and i will say that .