Bob Le Flambeur ("Bob the Gambler" or "Bob the High Roller") tells the tale of a life-long gambler who has his ups & downs (more "downs" as of late) with the cards, but keeps as steady a pace as his modest means can afford him. He lives in a semi-posh neighborhood in Paris, but spends a majority of his time ducking in and out of small card clubs and dive bars to catch his next gamble. Bob is also a mentor to a younger, hipper guy named Paulo who aims to be Bob personified. Bob's (and everyone's) troubles begin when he befriends Anne, a fresh-faced street-walker, who takes Bob for just another well-off guy who wants to lavish the young Lolita with gifts for sex, but is genuinely curious about her motivations in life.
The whole relationship (if you could call it one) is very light and platonic, with Bob giving her a place to stay (she had just been hopping from bed to bed) while he stays out all day gambling. He introduces Anne to Paulo and he falls for her, of course. She could care less about who she's with as long as they spoil her, but Paulo is young and foolish and confides in her one night in bed about a fantastic heist Bob has planned on a regional casino, despite Bob's friendly warning.The next night, Anne has too much to drink and relays Paulo's bombastic promise to spoil her after the heist to a local pimp named Marc she's about to sleep with. Marc's plan to utilize his strong pimp hand on Anne is put on the back burner, as he needs to give this new-found information to the police in order to keep himself out of jail for beating up his own wife (who he's also pimping out). Everything falls on one long night, laying in wait to pull the heist.
Although Bob Le Flambeur isn't as gripping as the aforementioned heist films, it does paint a brilliant picture. Bob's quid pro quo with Inspector Ledru could very well be the inspiration for the modern heist classic Heat's DeNiro-Pacino tête-à-tête. And Criterion sure makes a damn fine looking DVD.
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