The Gambler

A British/Dutch/Hungarian co-production based on real-life events of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky and a dramatisation of his short novel, “The Gambler.” The film focuses on a period in the writer’s life at St Petersburg in 1866 when Dostoyevsky (Michael Gambon), aged 45, an obsessive roulette player whose consuming passion was forever landing him in debt, has an agreed deadline to complete a novel - or lose ownership of all his works to his rather unscrupulous publisher, Stellovsky (Thom Jansen). To help Dostoyevsky achieve this deadline, Anna (Jodhi May), an impoverished student desperate for money to help support her parents, is hired as his stenographer. But Anna finds to her dismay that this writer is not an easy person to work with. He is belligerent, cantankerous and condescending with no respect or sensitivity towards Anna’s feelings. However as the days go by, Anna finds herself inextricably caught up with Dostoyvesky’s imagination and the story he is creating - a tale of a young couple at the Casino in the fictional German resort Roulettenburg where the young man’s gambling obsession has put him into debt. The intertwining of reality and fiction eventually leads to a strange erotic attraction between Dostoyevsky and Anna. In real life, Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina became Dostoyvesky’s second wife and it is her written reminiscences that have allowed a glimpse into Dostoyevsky’s creative life and the eventual making of this film. Screenplay by Katharine Ogden, Charles Cohen and Nick Dear. Cast also includes Polly Walker, Dominic West, John Wood, Johan Leysen, Angeline Ball, Luise Rainer.