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Nice effects though.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The Croupier (1998)Take a steady, steely very young Clive Owen and give him a mysterious past in the gambling dens of South Africa. Then have him need a job in London--at a casino. That's the movie, and all the almost inevitable pressures on him to eventually either cheat of get involved in a crime. But he gives the appearance of having been there and done that and he's cool as a cucumber. And very effective. This is one of this first really movie roles (after years of British t.v.) and you can see how he is a whole level above his peers. There isn't really a bad performance in the bunch, but lots of just serviceable stuff that lets him do his thing. The plot builds nicely, with some subtle twists and decent writing. The ending is a weirdly flat experience--meant to be shocking and open-ended no doubt--which makes you re-evaluate the climax right before that. Owes plays it all as if nothing mattered, though he does on the inside seem affected.The other twist here, almost unnecessary but it works, is that Owen is also writing a book about it all, and he sometimes (through voice-over narration) confuses and conflates the lead character in the book with himself. They are of course the same, sort of, but not too closely or he'd get caught.At doing whatever he is really doing. Never mind all the possible flaws in the plot, it clicks overall and it's intriguing. It also has a nice, if a bit brightly illuminated (t.v. style) filming. Solid, low budget stuff. And an entry into the life of a mega-actor to be. Oh, and I wouldn't call it a noir (or neo-noir) even with all the voiceovers and the alienated lead male--it lacks the other element of pure style, which this functional movie avoids too well.

Clive Owen is "Croupier" in this 1998 film directed by Mike Hodges. Owen plays Jack, an aspiring writer living in London with his girlfriend Marion (Gina McKee). He takes a job as a croupier at a casino, though he doesn't want to, and it gives him inspiration for his book. The character in the book is named Jake, and as Jack becomes desensitized to what goes on in the casino, he becomes more like Jake. He is approached by a beautiful gambler in trouble, Jani (Alex Kingston), who wants his help in an illegal operation at the casino. Meanwhile, Jack's relationship with Marion is heading downhill A very realistic look at the world of gambling and casino life, with Owen complete perfection as Jack, who gets inside Jake's head and then really can't get out. Alex Kingston, best known here for her work on E.R., is beautiful and seductive as Jani.Someone on the board, obviously British, mentioned Owen emerging from his TV personality. Sadly we don't know anything about that in the U.S., though I've got his TV show on my Netflix list. The first time I became aware of him was in "Closer," and I've been following his work ever since.Very good film with abundant sex, nudity, violence, and of course, gambling.

I enjoyed watching this but it wasn't anything fantastic. The main character is flat and a bit too two dimensional, not much of a person. That was the thing most wrong with this for me. The scenes in the casino seem believable and are interesting. The small insights into people other than our hero are sort of interesting and compelling, but we don't get to explore them. In a way, that leaves it lacking human interest but it adds some mystery. It's got an exciting denouement that isn't ruined by piles of equally over-the-top violence. Other than that, the plot was good and it kept moving along. The acting was good, the characters mostly believable (except the main). It was fine for a lazy Friday night with a bottle of wine.

In the title of my review I mention the feel of The Hustler, the classic movie about another sort of addiction (and alcoholism) with Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott, and Piper Laurie. Jack Manfred is an analog to the George C. Scott character, constantly facing the harsh reality of his world and evincing a certain strength of character thereby. Croupier is lighter, yet it deals with several of the same problems faced in a world populated by addicts; plus it packs the added interest of a mystery. The performances are terrific, especially Owen's. As in The Hustler, the audience lies in suspense, weighing with the characters what is the right thing to do and hoping they'll figure it all out. ...For my complete review of this movie and for other movie and book reviews, please visit my site TheCoffeeCoaster.com.Brian Wright Copyright 2008