Runner, Runner: Justin Timberlake’s ‘sexy, sultry’ gambling thriller

Gemma Arterton stands in the middle of La Perla, a Puerto Rico slum outside San Juan that for years was an open air drugs market, but is now, temporarily, a Hollywood movie set.

The British star of ‘Quantum of Solace’ and ‘Tamara Drewe’ admires the view - dilapidated but colourful shanty-town flats - and tells us that it’s hurricane season. “It’s sticky and hot. The movie is sticky and hot… that claustrophobic muggy feeling is close to the tone of the film.”

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She’s describing ‘Runner, Runner’, Fox’s left-field project about the seedy world of online gambling that’s set in Costa Rica but filmed in Puerto Rico (for the tax breaks).

It stars Justin Timberlake as Ritchie, a mature Princeton college student who gambles away all his tuition money playing online poker. He learns that that the dodgy site uses an algorithm that means everyone using the site will eventually lose.

Richie travels to Costa Rica to confront the owner of the site, the brilliantly named Ivan Block, played by Ben Affleck. He’s soon working for him but after realising that Block is actually a nasty peice of work, he tries to leave with Arterton’s sexy right-hand woman Rebecca. Things get even more complicated for Ritchie when Anthony Mackie’s federal agent forces him to help bring down Block. “Wild sexy sultry ensues,” laughs Timberlake.

The pop-star-turned-thesp was intrigued by the subject matter, explaining to reporters on set why he signed up to the project. “There was this ‘Wizard of Oz’ juxtaposition to what could be attractive and sexy about it [Costa Rican gambling], but also the seedy undertone to the whole thing”.

Perhaps because of the darkness of the material he initially wanted to play the bad guy, but even when eventually installed as leading man, he pushed for an R-Rating. He got his wish thanks to an “elaborate 45-minute pitch”.

Director Brad Furman’s previous movie ‘The Lincoln lawyer’ played a huge part in resuscitating Matthew McConaughey’s career, and he thinks ‘Runner, Runner’ will force folks to take a fresh look at Timberlake’s acting.

Furman said: “We sat down with Justin, met eye-to-eye and talked in terms of the vision of the film creatively and the sort of movie star he is and wants to become.” He said Timberlake is “charismatic, intelligent” and “the embodiment of a classic movie star”.

“He’s delivering a performance that is riveting, is grounded, is raw, very similar to what I managed to do with Matthew in ‘Lincoln Lawyer’. Trying to flip it. Putting Justin Timberlake in La Perla, I don’t think that’s something you see everyday.”

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Furman also pulled off a major coup by enlisting Affleck for the villain role. Nowadays the Oscar-winning director usually only acts in his own projects, but a shared love of the 70s films like ‘Serpico’ and ‘All The President’s Men’ (films that clearly influenced ‘Argo’) persuaded Affleck to join up. As did his love of poker in real life.

Arterton had to audition for the role of Rebecca, and won the gig thanks to her evident chemistry with Timberlake. The scene being filmed on the press day saw the duo flirt in a run-down restaurant. She flirtatiously asks him to order her a cab home in that distinctive plummy twang of hers, but clearly she doesn’t mean it. Arterton wanted to try an American accent for the film, but producers fell with in love with her natural voice.

The Brit said her femme fatale was inspired by Rita Hayworth’s classic melodrama ‘Gilda’, and even wears her hair similar to the character in some scenes as a tribute.

Time will tell if ‘Runner, Runner’ attains such classic status. The gritty, 70s feel that inspires the director could be tricky to mesh with that “sultry, sexy” vibe and photogenic cast. The subject matter might also be a tough sell, though the cast and crew deserve credit for trying something different.

“I’ve been able to usurp the system in a way that I’m getting types of movies done that aren’t typical,” said Furman. “It’s character drama between Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake, its not a superhero movie, its not a shoot-em up, blow-em up movie.”

It’s a gamble that might just pay off.

‘Runner, Runner’ is released in September.