Croupier (2000)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Beautiful, moving film.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

On the face of it, the character who features most prominently in this psychological drama is a cold, laconic and emotionless individual who appears to have undergone a charisma bypass. What makes him so interesting, however, is his voiceover narration that runs through the entire film and provides a full and fascinating insight into his thoughts, attitudes and aspirations. Because his motivations, reasoning and opinions of the people around him are all made so transparent, it becomes impossible not to be gripped by his story and intrigued by how it will play out.Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) who lives in London, is an unpublished novelist who's suffering from writer's block and has bills to pay. Fortunately, his live-in girlfriend Marion (Gina McKee) is very understanding as she's a romantic who's deeply in love with him and relishes the idea of living with a writer. Jack was brought up in South Africa and an opportunity to get over his immediate difficulties arises when his father, who still lives there, sets him up with a job at a casino. During his interview for the job, Jack displays his considerable speed and dexterity in dealing cards and stacking the chips at a roulette table and is informed about the strict rules of the establishment. These stipulate that croupiers must remain aloof at all times from both clients and fellow employees and must report any form of cheating that they see. Because he'd previously worked as a croupier in South Africa where he'd learned that the house always wins, Jack never gambles and is very confident about his ability to do the job Jack conducts himself impeccably in his work and impresses the manager with his professionalism and apparent honesty. He also gets to indulge in his own addiction which is the enjoyment he derives from watching other people lose money. The late hours he works have a detrimental impact on his relationship with Marion and he breaks his first casino rule when he has a one night stand with Bella (Kate Hardie) who's also a croupier at the "Golden Lion". Another rule gets broken when he chooses not to report that he's seen fellow croupier Matt (Paul Reynolds) cheating the house and then takes to socialising with him.Unexpectedly, the most significant turning point in his new job arrives in the form of Jani de Villiers (Alex Kingston) who's also South African. She's a sexy, sophisticated and seasoned gambler who befriends him and persuades him to participate in a planned robbery of the casino. With a £10,000 payment as an immediate inducement, Jack finds this offer impossible to resist and then has to deal with the numerous surprising consequences that follow.Jack is a deeply cynical man who hates cheats, thinks he's smarter than everyone else and has a sneering attitude to gamblers. He habitually works out the odds on various issues before taking decisions and despises the sleaze that he's surrounded by in his place of employment (which Bella refers to as "the cesspit"). He loses his moral superiority when he gets tempted by Jani but also benefits from his experience by using his job and Matt as inspirations for a successful book and its main protagonist. Clive Owen is exceptionally good as Jack, especially as his character is so dead-pan for most of the time.The seedy nature of casinos as places of legalised theft where money is routinely laundered and the proceeds of crime finance the gambling is very convincingly recreated here and provides a wonderful backdrop to Jack Manfred's unusual story.

Croupier is a very good film, that lacks in terms of excitement and overall story, though quite compelling. Clive Owen's character is a little bland on the exterior, though his inner dialogue throughout the film is very good, it's hard to care about the character. I especially loved Gina McKee as Marion. Killing her off, was an easy way out for the writer and quite disappointing. Many of the scenes feel like they were edited down quite a bit, either jumping ahead or not resolving. Which makes it feel rushed and mashed somewhat, with a short runtime. Croupier has quality content and is one of the better casino related films, though not up there with the likes of "Rounders" or "Owning Mahowny."

A struggling writer takes a job as a croupier (card dealer) at a casino, using his experiences to write a book. It seems that there is a lot going on in this film but there isn't really much of a plot - just a lot of little episodes reflecting on the central character. Owen is always interesting to watch and he's the main attraction here in one of his earliest starring roles, providing an edginess and sense of mystery to his character. Veteral British director Hodges, best known for "Get Carter," manages to create a brooding, threatening atmosphere. As such, the film never becomes boring despite the weak storyline, although ultimately it's not very satisfying either.

Jack: The world breaks everyone, and afterwards many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break, it kills - it kills the very good, and the very gentle, and the very brave, impartially. If you are none of these, you can be sure it will kill you, too, but there will be no special hurry.Croupier is a refreshing little indie film with a lot to admire in it. The plot is smart for the most part, even if it does drag towards the middle. The acting is all very good, but the stand-out is Clive Owen. 'Croupier' gains it's real power from the subtle yet marvelous performance by Clive Owen as the suave, cool but ultimately unhappy writer turned casino croupier. The plot has nice twists and turns, but really the best thing about this film is Clive Owen. Owen is an actor I recently gained a lot of respect for after seeing him consecutively in such great films as 'Children of Men' and of course 'Closer' for which he received an Academy Award Nomination. 'Croupier' is an interesting little crime caper, that although isn't big, spectacular and extremely exciting, offers first-rate performances, solid writing and decent directing. Grade: B