The star names certainly do it no harm. Dustin Hoffman takes the lead here as a man just released from prison, who decides to try and turn around a California-based racetrack. Immediately, Hoffman is magnetic too, portraying a character based boasting many shades of grey. Nick Nolte gets a juicy role, too, as a horse trainer desperately trying to find success.

Horse racing, and the gambling that surrounds it, proves to be rich pickings for Luck. It takes a lot of time to get things into place, and inevitably, some will be left a little cold by its patient approach. But it’s a complex drama that it’s building up here, with lots of characters, and several narratives at work.