By Deke Rivers
Russell Crowe had a major creative win with his second directorial effort Poker Face, a thrilling drama set in the world of high stakes poker.
New Zealand-born, Aussie-based Russell Crowe is a mighty force unto himself. Never one to court favour by being a warm and fuzzy media personality, Crowe has his own distinct ideas about what’s what and where it should be, and he’s not afraid to voice his opinions. Though his detractors may question his continued involvement with music and his longtime (but perhaps nearly dissolved) financial and personal commitment to the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team, Crowe always gives his ventures 100%.
One thing that is never in question, however, is his acting ability. The son of film set caterers, Crowe started acting as a child, before taking his first major role as a young adult on the iconic TV soap Neighbours, while also pursuing his interests in music. Charming in a brusquely masculine way, Crowe made his presence felt in a number of projects (Blood Oath, The Crossing, Proof, Spotswood, Brides Of Christ) before taking on the role that would establish him as Australia’s next major star. As the vicious but highly principled skinhead Hando in the battering Romper Stomper, Crowe was nothing short of a revelation. The film was a local sensation, and ultimately got the 28-year-old actor noticed around the world.
Crowe has enjoyed a richly diverse and highly successful career, effectively playing bad guys (one of his first major international roles was as a computer generated serial killer in Virtuosity, while the western 3:10 To Yuma provided a fine showcase for him to get ornery and mean), nice guys (one of his finest turns remains his loveable “good son” in The Sum of Us), noble heroes (his Oscar winning turn in the truly star-making Gladiator, Master and Commander, Proof of Life), shady reprobates (True History of The Kelly Gang), raging monsters (TV’s The Loudest Voice) and deeply flawed men trying to do good in a violent world (LA Confidential, The Nice Guys, The Insider, American Gangster, Cinderella Man, Body of Lies, Sleeping Dogs).
In 2014, Crowe delivered a major career shift when he turned director with the powerful WW2-set drama The Water Diviner. “You’re kinda looking, but you’re not really looking,” Crowe told FilmInk of making the move behind the camera. “You’re not actively waking up every day going, ‘I must find that movie to direct!’ You’re open to the idea, but you’re not actively pursuing it.” While acting consistently and enjoying great success in front of the camera, Crowe directed his second movie in 2022 with the gambling drama Poker Face, not to be confused with the current same-named TV series starring Natasha Lyonne. Shot in NSW but set in the US, Poker Face is set in the world of high stakes poker, with Crowe playing wealthy gambler Jake Foley, who gathers his friends for a night where they can win big, but in order to do so, they have to give up their secrets.
Written by Stephen M. Coates (John Doe: Vigilante), Poker Face also stars Liam Hemsworth, Elsa Pataky, Jacqueline McKenzie, Daniel MacPherson, Matt Nable, Benedict Hardie, Steve Bastoni, Aden Young, Brooke Satchwell, Steve Bastoni, and hip-hop legend RZA. “Poker Face is a high stakes thriller with the game everybody loves at its core – it’s an edge of your seat ride,” said producer Gary Hamilton before the film’s release. Filmmaking can be a gamble in itself – not unlike a New Zealand $15 no deposit bonus – and though tough to make, Poker Face proved a major creative win for Russell Crowe. “I love the medium of film, and I love my job, and there’s no more spectacular job to have in art than directing a feature film,” Crowe told the cinema crowd at the film’s Sydney premiere in 2014. “It takes into account so many different things – it’s composition and it’s colour and it’s music and it’s choreography – and it’s all these different things that just make it such a special job. I just had to put on that hat where you pretend to know what the fuck you’re doing and eventually you can start applying yourself.”
Poker Face is screening now on Stan.
