 Pauline Kael wrote that "Dunaway plays the self-destructive Wanda with a minimum of fuss... she wins your admiration by the simplicity of her effects", and Roger Ebert felt that both Rourke and Dunaway "take their characters as opportunities to stretch as actors, to take changes and do extreme things".After "Barfly", which remained one of her favorite films, Dunaway tried to be careful about the roles she chose, but was also faced with the reality she had to work to support herself and her child.In 1988, she appeared in the period drama "The Gamble" but felt that the best part of this experience turned out to be meeting her co-star Matthew Modine.