The Fresh Films Review: Croupier (1998)

Croupier (1998)

Directed by:
Mike Hodges

COUNTRY
France/UK/
Germany/Ireland

GENRE
Drama/Crime

NORWEGIAN TITLE
Croupier

RUNNING TIME
94 minutes

Produced by:
Jonathan Cavendish
Christine Ruppert

Written by:
Paul Mayersberg

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Jack Manfred	Clive Owen
Giles Cremorne	Nick Reding	½
Marion Nell	Gina McKee	½
Bella	Kate Hardie	½
Jani de Villiers	Alex Kingston

Review

Clive Owen plays an introverted, aspiring writer who takes a job as a casino croupier and returns to a world of gamblers and opportunists that he knows all too well. The film's little stroke of genius is the many wry, aloof observations offered by the title character as he spirals from a seemingly moral stronghold to a selfish opportunist, at the same pace as his consideration for himself and his own situation diminishes. The veteran English director Mike Hodges (Get Carter) has a refreshing, unsentimental approach and a crisp, direct narrative style. During the course of this film, he not only delivers an engaging and original crime story, but also dissects the gambling business, removing all romanticism and fairytale from it in the process. A young and handsome Clive Owen demonstrates talent and confidence in the lead, in what stands as one of the most offbeat and best British films of the late 1990s.