''The Learning Curve'' is a 2001 American

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

about two

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

nightclub scenesters who team up as

con artists A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have de ...

. It explores themes of ruthless ambition and its consequences. The film was directed by Eric Schwab, and stars

Carmine Giovinazzo Carmine Dominick Giovinazzo ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American actor, writer, painter and musician, known for his role as Danny Messer, Detective Danny Messer in ''CSI: NY''. Early life Giovinazzo was born and raised in the Port Richmond, ...

Norbert Weisser Norbert Weisser (born July 9, 1946) is a German-born actor based in the US. Based in Venice, California, he is a founding member of Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, the ProVisional Theater, and the Padua Playwrights Festival. A long-time collaborator ...

, and

Monet Mazur Monet H. Mazur (born April 17, 1976) is an American actress. Life Mazur was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Ruby Mazur, an illustrator known for creating the "tongue" logo for the Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice" single jacket, a ...

Plot

Paul Cleveland (

) fights off Georgia's (

) attacker. A strong bond develops between the two and the ambition of Cleveland begins to surface rapidly as he starts to participate in scams with Georgia to raise enough money to leave his job as a hospital

orderly In healthcare, an orderly (also known as a ward assistant, nurse assistant or healthcare assistant) is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and medical interventions. The highest ro ...

behind. When they try to scam Marshal (played by

Vincent Ventresca Vincent Paul Gerard Ventresca (born April 29, 1966) is an American actor, perhaps best known for portraying Darien Fawkes on Sci-Fi's ''The Invisible Man'', and Professor Jack Reed on NBC's ''Boston Common''. Ventresca is also known for his guest ...

) by staging a road accident using Georgia as a distracting female

hitchhiker Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads have ...

it seems that they have struck a very dangerous individual as he produces a gun and kidnaps them. Marshal is head of a record company and controls a very large financial empire and he takes Paul and Georgia to his offices where he eventually makes them an offer and congratulates them for their enterprise. The ambitious Cleveland then offers his further services to Marshal in a similar way to Bud Fox approaching

Gordon Gekko Gordon Gekko is a composite character in the 1987 film '' Wall Street'' and its 2010 sequel '' Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'', both directed by Oliver Stone. Gekko was portrayed by actor Michael Douglas, whose performance in the first fil ...

in the film ''

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

'' The similarities between

and Marshal are apparent as he begins to reward Cleveland for tasks accomplished. The empty warehouse that he gives them for Georgia and Paul to freely decorate and furnish is a similarity. Paul soon begins to become obsessed with how much Marshal needs him and begins to neglect Georgia in preference to Marshal's lucrative offers. Georgia also begins to become disenchanted with their lifestyle and this becomes the theme for the rest of the film as her ethics begin to clash with Marshal's organization and Paul's trance like obedience to him.

External links

* 2001 films 2000s crime drama films 2001 crime thriller films American crime drama films American crime thriller films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 2001 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{crime-thriller-film-stub