Croupier [IMPORT]

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant movie
Review: "Croupier" was, simply, the best movie I saw in 2000 . . . Truly a classic that holds up under repeated viewings . . .

Rating:
Summary: More twists than a light bulb socket
Review: A brilliant film set in the UK with enough suspenseful plot twists to keep even the most seasoned mystery reader on the edge of her seat. Clive Owen's performance is impressively versatile as he plays a struggling author who ventures into the seedy casino underground to find material for his next book. His results are not as he expected... Trivia: Croupier was disqualified from the Academy Awards after being shown on Dutch television.

Rating:
Summary: Nice British character study
Review: A nice British character study of a struggling writer, Jack Manfred, who goes back to his former love, being a croupier. He gets a job at a low-scale casino and decides to write a book about his own experience. His wife does not want him to lead the life of a croupier and, spurred on by an affair he is caught in, leaves him. Jack gets attached to a shady customer, who makes him an offer that might change his life.

Manfred has a priviledged perspective on gambling, being able to discern the psychological flaws of everyone around him, much like Matt Damon's character in Rounders (a cliché but interesting movie precisely because of that). In the same way, Croupier goes beyond the relatively simple story by having Manfred always narrating the events as he sees them in his own worldview. It provodes a lot more depth in his character and the movie in general.

Manfred is not a cruel character, but his love of croupier work, and how it intimately relates to his own life, gives him a detached quality. I would say he is definitely an egoist character, and has no qualms in examining moral issues dispassionately. Very refreshing.

Rating:
Summary: Cool, Ironic, Understated Mayhem
Review: A struggling writer who's a talented cardsman gets a job as a croupier, thanks to his father, in a London casino. From there the film moves into a complicated scheme to rob the casino, with violence and double dealing along the way. The one unexpected bit of retribution that hits Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) has emotional power. The ending is not exactly nihilistic, but has more than a bit of irony.

Mike Hodges, who directed the first-rate Get Carter with Michael Caine, brings the same cool approach here. Owen is perfect in the lead, and the rest of the cast is excellent. Croupier is a very good story very well done.

The DVD transfer also is excellent. There are no extras.

Rating:
Summary: A Witty, Hard-Boiled treat
Review: After far too much time spent in casinos over the past several years, I have one question: Does the dealer root for me or against me? Does he want me to walk away richer or does he want to beat me? Croupier does a fantastic job of analyzing that question. Built around an interesting, noir plot about a dealer fighting his inner demons in order to do his job and realize his dreams (as a writer), Croupier is marvelously well-paced and a satisfying film. A widescreen option on the DVD would be nice, but watch for the trailer for "Rounders" (from 1998, the "in production" Rounders trailer contains lots of stuff that never made it into the final film.)

Rating:
Summary: On The Job Training
Review: Can you find yourself through your vocation? Does anyone exist without guilt? A very disturbing exploration of identity, responsibility, loss and morality. Clive Owen is perfectly cast as a second generation Casino brat with ambitions of being a writer. Just like Owen's character, the film's identity is in a constant state of contradiction, is it a pulp thriller or is it high art. In the end, we learn that it can be both. Great neo-noir.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent film
Review: Can't describe how satisfying this dark little film is. Very stylish, fascinating and well-crafted, and there are several unexpected twists and nuances that make repeated viewings all the more pleasurable. The DVD is barebones, but it's ultimately all about having a clear picture that won't deteriorate, and I rarely desire to know every shred of hype and production detail. Fans of the BBC and British cinema will be pleased to see several familiar faces, and ER fans should know that Alex Kingston bares all (not the first time). Overall, a nice modern addition to the film noir genre. Do yourself a favor and buy a fresh pack of cards before you watch it--you'll want them desperately afterwards. Along with a fresh haircut and manicure.

Rating:
Summary: A high class flick, terrific
Review: Certainly this is one of my favorite movies. It is a testament that you do not need a big budget to make a first class movie. At the heart of this flick is a writer who uses his job as a croupier both as a source of income and as inspiration for a novel he is writing. What I loved about this movie was the subtleties and twists and turns this movie makes. Full of dark characters, betrayals, and blackmail, this movie is sure to please any movie buff. I can't recommend this one enough.

Rating:
Summary: Clive Owen Rocks It Kenny Rogers AKA The Gambler Style
Review: Clive Owen plays an apithetic croupier who also just happens to be a writer who has writer's block. He apparently worked in a casino before and starts working in the gaming industry again as he has nothing to write about. There's a small heist that he vaguely becomes a part of...but the plot is really secondary to the performance of Clive Owen.

His smug detachment from the people around is so well done that you both love and hate his character. He is annoyed by the many regular people around him just pissing their lives and money away. He knows he's just like them, but at least he realizes it. Owen's performance is captivating and makes 'Croupier' one of the best movies you've never seen.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Superb Drama with Owen Wonderful
Review: Clive Owen plays the elegant Jack Manfred, a croupier in a London casino. He's trying to write a novel but is having trouble focusing on a story. Then his father, a South African gambler, recommends Jack for the croupier job. At this point, I'm going to deviate from the other Amazon reviewers and say that I think this film is really about Jack and the way he is trying to reconcile his life from the tumultuous life he lived with his parents. I think the 3 women in the movie, the croupier job and his avocation as a writer all serve as vehicles for this far greater, dark parental triangle he's been caught in his whole life. It informs every move he makes. The whole parental relationship comes full circle with him by movie's end and you understand fully why Jack is the person that he is. The film could have been scripted by Sigmund Freud.