Gambit

Gambit is a 2012 indie comedy crime film directed by Michael Hoffman, starring Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz, Alan Rickman and Stanley Tucci. It is a remake of the 1966 film of the same name starring Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine. This version is written by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film premiered in the UK on 21 November 2012; it never received a theatrical release in the US, despite originally being planned for a 12 October 2012 release, and went straight-to-DVD on 25 April 2014. Plot British art curator Harry Deane decides to seek revenge on his abusive boss Lord Lionel Shabandar conning him into buying a fake Monet (Haystacks at Dusk), to complement the one he already has (Haystacks at Dawn). He teams up with a master art forger, the Major, and travels to Alpine, Texas. He searches for rodeo queen PJ Puznowski, the granddaughter of the sergeant responsible for capturing Hermann Göring in 1945. Harry explains that PJ's participation will lend authenticity since the Monet was last seen at Carinhall after being plundered by the Nazis. She agrees and the next day the three drive out to PJ's grandmother's mobile home out in the desert. They hang the fake Monet on the wall and take a picture with the painting in the background. The picture is to appear with an article on the rodeo queen that will be published in a magazine that is part of Shabandar's media empire. Back in London, Harry meets with Shabandar and discusses the photos of PJ and her grandmother, turning the attention to the painting. Shabandar replies that it is a reproduction, based on the fact that it is hanging on the wall of a mobile home in Texas. Harry suggests that they at least check to see if the painting is real or not, because the painting is so rarely reproduced. Shabandar reluctantly agrees, and Harry tries to find PJ to follow up on the matter.