Mississippi Grind

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Cinematography by Andrij Parekh. Anna directed 'It's Kind Of A Funny Story' which I liked. And Andrij was the DP on the ever-so-hot Netflix series '13 Reasons Why' for the first two episodes.
Two of the most meaningful and important shots are the first and last shots of Gerry. I placed them in order below.  

It's like playing that game in Highlights magazine where you have to pick out the differences in each picture. But let's start with the similarities. In both shots he's sitting in his car. His facial expression displays nothing. And Gerry's image is covered by a reflection on the window.
The journey of the film is told through the differences. It's quite literally night and day. The reflection in the beginning is of a casino and as you can see by the shot, it's metaphorically choking Gerry. He's framed in the upper right quadrant with the casino's reflection covering the bottom of the scene, indicating importance. All of this comes together to introduce us to Gerry before he's even said a word.
The lower shot, at the end of the film Gerry is prominent. It's morning in America as a tangled flag waves over his face. Maybe he's learned something and grown as a person. Or maybe the tangled flag represents a mirage of hope. His facial expression seems to say, "I'm gonna gamble all this new found money away."   

Boden and Fleck use framing and focus to introduce us to Ryan Reynolds character just like they did with Gerry. The focus shifts from Gerry to Curtis as he appears on screen. He's a force, bigger than Gerry. This is a character who commands our attention. Curtis floats over the shoulder of Gerry like an angel. And this is a harbinger of their relationship.
There's never a concrete reason given for Curtis to take pity on Gerry and support him financially. Curtis' lover, pictured below, indicates this isn't' the first time he's tried to help a chronic gambler. And it's never ended well.  

I'm thinking Curtis is an angel trying to earn his wings. He can't get his life started until he saves at least one soul. And when Gerry is set up with money, Curtis can finally start a family.
The movie has some truthful depictions of the gambler's mentality through Gerry which I liked. Ben Mendelsohn absolutely owns Gerry as a character. I kept comparing the movie to 'Hard Eight' as it had a similar emotional feel to it but pared down to two characters you could really invest in. Recommended.