There is a teasing quality to Mamet's presentations that reminds me of a skilled magician, meticulously laying out his cards while telling us a story.

Mamet’s wily plot twists and turns while the characters constantly play roles within roles, from the impersonal mask of the psychiatrist pushing her patients... to the gamblers bluffing their way through hands of cards, criminal schemes, and seductions.

What follows is a con-man movie that sticks in your guts. Not because of the take or the twists, but rather its pitch-black read on these characters and what they can’t help but reveal through all their trickery.

Playwright David Mamet makes his directorial debut in this thoughtful, probing psychological study.