So this is an Adam Sandler movie, but it’s one of those “comedy star does a dramatic turn” ones (the movie is directed by the Safdies, and distributed by A24 — and in this case, on a Criterion disc). The good news is: It really works. Sandler doesn’t feel like he’s doing one of his comedic characters more darkly, nor is he just playing “Adam Sandler, only the plot is serious.” He’s actually playing a real dramatic character, and he does it convincingly, playing this sweaty, nervous, intense gambler of a character with total conviction.

In the opening of the movie, it seems like Sandler’s character has had a string of bad luck: He’s got some guys who are after him for money he owes them, and he genuinely should be able to pay them as soon as a few things come through, and it seems like a combination of bad luck and unreasonable loan sharks that he’s in these desperate straits.

But as the movie goes on, it becomes clear that he’s really making his own luck here. He’s not stupid, he’s not a clown; he’s a guy with some legitimate talents and skills. But he’s also got terrible, terrible judgment and he’s an inveterate gambler. And maybe those loan sharks aren’t quite as unreasonable as they seem, and maybe his bad luck isn’t some unusual constellation of unfortunate events after all.

Seeing someone destroy their own life is brutal, but the genius of this movie is that his energy and hustle are balanced on a knife-edge with his self-destructive tendencies, and even down to the very end, you don’t quite know how things are going to turn out (while at the same time feeling confident that they can only end one way).

Ultimately, this is a movie that I can respect, but not love. It’s relentlessly tense, and someone destroying their life one bad decision at a time is hard to watch. But it’s well done, and succeeds at what it’s trying to do.