It was William Bolitho, a great unsung hero of 20th century letters, who best articulated the allure of the professional gambler: "A gambler," Bolitho wrote, "is a man who makes his living on hope." "Lucky You," the new picture from Curtis Hanson ("L.A. Confidential," "8 Mile") is the first movie to come along that fully understands that a great gambler doesn't hit it big with a system or even (God forbid) luck; he needs hope and optimism, a feeling that somehow things are going to go right even as the world seems determined to beat him down. In this way, gamblers aren't somewhat like the rest of us — they are exactly like the rest of us. In the character Huck Cheever, Hanson and screenwriter Eric Roth ("The Insider") have fashioned a professional gambler who is completely inaccessible and totally believable. This is exactly the way it should be. As played by Eric Bana, Huck is a closed-off hustler, a medium-range talent in the world of high-stakes, after-hours Vegas poker games. He's preternaturally wild and self-destructive without being particularly charismatic or charming. Others have complained Bana is too guarded of an actor to display any of Huck's more sociopathic tendencies, but he has an intimate understanding of the closed-off, obsessive nature of high-stakes gamblers. Hanson and Roth have made their reputations out of observing American subcultures: Hanson dove head-on into mid-Atlantic academia with "Wonder Boys" and took viewers into the underground hip-hop scene with "8 Mile." Roth's best script is "The Insider," a scathing account of corporate politics. Together, they seem at ease in a unique world of after-hours Vegas dealings. Their Vegas is an underpopulated, lonely playground that mirrors Huck's aimless existence. Hanson and Roth give their movie a leisurely pace when it comes to plotting; the picture doesn't have the breathless enthusiasm of "The Cincinnati Kid" or "Rounders." Like its hero, the movie takes a pragmatic, almost apathetic approach to the game: There is no joy in watching the cards get dealt or trying to see the hero catch a boat or a flush. The soundtrack — which includes amped-up hits from Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen — is in ironic juxtaposition to Huck's own misdirected machismo. The movie loses its footing to a certain extent as it tries to hook the character of Huck up to a variety of divergent plot threads. We get glimpses into his relationships with a na?