Crupiê: A Vida em Jogo

I vaguely remembered when CROUPIER was released in 1998 . It was a heist movie directed by Mike Hodges of GET CARTER fame and it`s a movie that brought Clive Owen to everyone`s notice , but it was a movie I never got round to seeing until a few nights ago when channel 4 broadcast it.

Right away I was convinced that I was going to be watching something that was influenced by CASINO , Hodges directing style of this movie screamed at me Scorsese , Scorsese , Scorsese but after the first ten or so minutes that struck me the movie might not be going anywhere it finally finds its feet . CROUPIER might not be the most compelling movie I`ve seen all year but it is a very interesting drama as we follow Jack Manfred a wannabe writer who works in a casino .

Two things I should point out though : First of all a lot of reviews I read when the movie was originally released is that they over stated the point about this being a " heist " movie when in fact it`s more of a drama . If you`re expecting something along the lines of OCEANS ELEVEN you`re going to be disappointed . Secondly if you have no interest whatsoever in what croupiers or frustrated writers do for a living you`ll probably have little desire in watching this movie . Like I said this is mainly a drama than a crime film and I must say that Hodges has perfectly captured the rather impersonal , empty and lonely atmosphere of London very well , and seeing as Clive Owen seems really at home in a casino wearing a tuxedo he wins my nomination as the next Bond . James Bond

I did start off this review by criticising the start of this movie so I`ll finish by criticising the ending . It`s not the worst ending I`ve ever seen in a movie but I can`t help feeling cheated by the last twenty minutes which sees an unlikely plot twist of Jack visiting a morgue along with some unlikely dialogue with a policeman . We`re also treated to Jack having a telephone conversation which does seem ridiculous almost as though the screenwriter didn`t know how to finish off the screenplay along with a faintly ridiculous final scene

I was a croupier myself for the best part of 15 years and I expected to see the usual depiction of a casino. You know the scene - think of any Bond movie - the Roulette wheel spins so fast that you can't see the numbers, the dealers all have sticks and speak in French accents, the bets are all placed before the ball is spun and all straight up on the number.

Not so this movie. Anyone that has ever been inside a real casino would

recognise this place. The urgency of every punter trying to get the last bet on before the ball drops, the cheats, the sad, sad losers that wait forever to place their last chips.

This is the most realistic depiction of a casino I have ever seen.

Clive Owen is perfect. He has obviously had a lot of training - only one criticism of his technique - he looks in the wheel as the ball is dropping - a good dealer looks at the layout and watches for late bets, he should be the last person to know which number has come up - he must have eyes in the back of his head to

spot a cheat the way he deals!

For realism, you can't fault this film - every character, even the peripheral extras are real and believable - it's a tour de force of perfect character sketches - the plot is almost irrelevant - in fact, it is not quite up to the incredible atmosphere created - but it's good enough, the film is well worth your time. Hell, it's worth watching 2 or 3 times just to catch all of the great little cameos that you might have missed the first time

9 out of 10

An aspiring writer (Clive Owen) is hired as a croupier at a casino, where he realizes that his life as a croupier would make a great novel.

My interest in gambling movies is about average, though I do find them somewhat interesting in the context of organized crime. That was not a major aspect here, though the movie was not without its unexpected death and shady characters. Lead by Clive Owen, it was a decent little story.

I also like that he was not a croupier just for the sake of being a croupier, but also had the idea of writing a book in mind. This then creates the fun of the unreliable narrator... is everything he says true, or is part of this just his fantasy of what would make for a better story?

"Croupier" is a British neo-noir. It has a detached character (or even better, two characters) who progressively get involved in a shadowy world from an apparently safe beginning, it has voice-overs, lots of artistic and original swearing, a depressing atmosphere and if you don't feel like lighting a cigarette with a Zippo after the movie is over, you're dead. Clive Owen gives an amazing performance as the croupier of the title, who is very conscious of his split personalities: Jack, a gambler, the writer who works in the casino to pay the bills, and Jake, a croupier, a man who enjoys watching his customers losing all his money and who makes sure he's always dealing the cards. In the end, Jack loses and Jake wins. The message is delivered in the least subtle way possible, Hell, the voice-over is practically an intellectual analysis on the movie's meaning, but it works because Jack/Jake is an amazingly engaging character and because the movie is so well directed. The crime plot, although not surprising in the least, develops itself smoothly and contains lots of unexpected sources of humor. "Croupier" is a very stylish and criminally underrated neo-noir that beats the living crap out of most of recent Hollywood releases centering about a big robbery or con. It might be heavy-handed, but it's conscious of where its strenghts lie, and Wilson is great. Why it's so criminally underrated... I don't have the faintest about.

CROUPIER (2000) *** Clive Owen, Gina McKee, Alex Kingston, Kate Hardie, Nicholas Ball. British director Mike Hodges returns with his trademark hands-on film noir twisting with Owen – part Connery/part Gibson – as a contemptuous struggling novelist who takes a job as a casino croupier with much disdain for its clientele and the razor's edge trundling of enjoying the afterhours lifestyle while struggling to maintain his identity from his story's semi-autobiographical character. Smartly written by Paul Mayersberg with its pulp fiction heart and soul on display works well until its unfortunately false ending. Owen gives a silky smooth enhancing performance of a man at odds with his life and makes it all look effortless.