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Persona Says CROUPIER's A Winner!!
Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some rumblings from the Lab.
Persona is one of the regulars of our chat room here at AICN, and she just checked out a film that is currently making its way around the country courtesy of The Shooting Gallery. It's one of this year's best reviewed pictures overall. Since I haven't seen it yet I'll leave you with Persona. Enjoy.
Hey Harry, I just saw a great movie. It's called Croupier. It was made
nearly
2 years ago in the UK, but it just opened at my local multiplex. (Very
occasionally,
they play some limited release films. Very very occasionally.) I'd heard
some
good things about it, so I was elated to see that it was playing. I know
it's
limited release, but if it's in your local listings, GO SEE IT! And
DEFINITELY
rent it when it comes out on video.
So, maybe I should tell you what it's about. (Spoilers are marked)
Croupier stars Clive Owen as Jack Manfred, a novelist struggling to
get
published.
He's half in love with his girlfriend Marion and getting short on cash.
He
takes
a job as a croupier (a.k.a. dealer) in a casino. Apparently Jack has a
love-hate
relationship with gambling. He never gambles himself, but he's addicted
to
seeing
people lose. Jack's father was an inveterate gambler, so Jack has become
the
opposite, a croupier. Jack sees himself as above everybody, a detached
observer
and also on the moral high ground. Jack is scrupulously honest. Or is
he?
Jack narrates his thoughts throughout the movie and then begins to read
aloud
portions of his novel-in-progress. I think this is some of the best use
of
voiceover
since Fight Club (ironically, with another character called Jack).
Clive Owen plays Jack to perfection: a stone-faced observer, who
pretends
not to care about anything or anybody. But he does, and thanks to the
great
performance we can see how self-deluded Jack really is about his
emotions
and
motivations. And if they decide to make another James Bond movie, Clive
Owen
is the man for the job. I'm really not kidding about that. He's got
icy-cool
nailed. He even looks a bit like a young Sean Connery.
I'd like to avoid spoilers, but also worth mentioning is the
performance
of
Alex Kingston (she played the British doctor on ER) as a femme fatale
type.
But then she's great in pretty much everything...naked too...(but I
digress...)And
also worthy of mention is Gina McKee (she played Hugh Grant's paralyzed
sister
in Notting Hill) as Marion, Jack's girlfriend.
Croupier was directed by Mike Hodges, who earned fame directing the
original
"Get Carter". (The remake is coming to a theater near you this fall!)
I'll
just
say this: the guy's good.
And the script by Paul Mayersberg is just fabulous. This is a very
smart
movie.
There are some threads left dangling that you will have to think about
for
a
while after you leave the theater. I think this is a good thing. I like
smart
movies. You may not. If you were confused by Mission: Impossible, this
is
not
the movie for you.
Unlike many movies, Croupier expects the audience to be intelligent
enough
to figure things out for themselves, instead of having it spelled out.
(Though,
considering some of the critics' reviews, maybe this wasn't a good
thing.
Or
maybe most critics have sub-par intelligence.) And if you have trouble
figuring
out the ending, here's a hint...
(SPOILER ALERT)
Just think long and hard about who was really pulling the strings in
the
scam.
(END SPOILER ALERT)
Croupier is fast becoming my favorite movie this year. I've already
seen
it
twice, and I'll doubtlessly see it again soon. And it's also got the
coolest
round of poker ever in a movie. Check it out!
Persona, your local chat-room goddess. ;)
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This film was totally ignored by audiences in the UK when it came out. I might try and get the video now, having read the review. You know the marketing of these small independent films in the UK is so pathetic - it's no wonder films like Croupier disappear without a trace. They really have to get their act together.
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I work in a casino as a pitboss (thats a table games supervisor for you uneducated) and i and a lot of my friends at the casino i work at have been wanting to see this since it first was heard about. after this review it just makes me want to see it more. There arent very many good movies about my kind of work. It really isn't that great of a lifestyle and hopefully will be out of it soon.
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good to see our own kind providing content. keep up the fine writin' skiziills.
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Christ Mike Hodges has done some quality work, Get Carter is a classic but I never heard a mention of The Croupier before. Must have had my head up my arse at the time. Good work Persona, I'm off down the video shop...
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Folks, I saw this film about 3 weeks ago and enjoyed the hell out of it. I talked a bit about it last night with persona herself and must confess that I was one of those dolts who got a bit confused with the VERY ending of it but anyhooo...Regardless, this is easily one of the top 5 films this year and may end up even higher (top 2 or 3 perhaps) depending how the next 4 months turn out. This has got to be one of the most miserable movie years in about a decade but I digress...
Like Soderbergh's "King of the Hill", this is just one of those films that you'd have to be insane not to like. (Fun fact--The director, Mike Hodges, not only directed 'Get Carter' but also directed none other than that 80's camp classic de jour: FLASH GORDON. If for no other reason, see Croupier as an aging vet's valiant and successful attempt to reconnect with his youth after 15, 20 years of obscurity).
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I saw Croupier a couple of weeks ago and have to say that I have disagreed with many of the critics. The film is by no means a bad movie, but I don't think it is the brilliant piece of work everyone is making it out to be. The lead actor, Clive Owen is certainly mesmorizing and the plot is well thought out but my problem with the movie was that I found it to be a little bit too slow paced. I felt like it wasn't going anywhere. Is it a worthwhile movie to go see if you get the chance? Yes. It will be tough to find though. Is it as good as everyone seems to be saying? I don't think so.
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Kind of like saying "The Psycho," or "The Taxi Driver."
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The film's been playing here in Los Angeles for many months now, and still selling out at my local indie theater. I went to see it to see that all the hub-bub is about. It's a good movie, but certainly doens't live up the hype that has been surrounding it. I recommend it but to only those who are true indie film goers.
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...actually played Hugh Grant's friend & former girlfriend, now married to his best friend (following all that?), in "Notting Hill." The part of his sister, Honey, was played by another actress. Nitpicky, I know.
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Its pretty good, but not great. The twist ending was incredibly lame, and almost ruined it for me. There is indeed full frontal nudity in the film (that chick aint that hot though).
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Aug 06, 2000 8:24:22 AM CDT
Croupier....questions...spoilers....help!...the hands of a conju
by artflaunt
Throw me into the "one of the dolts pile" because I am still a touch confused about the very end. I loved this movie and eagerly await the video release date of August 15th but I'm still a bit in the dark about the end.
Now, was it that Bella had made it looked like she was getting fired to somehow manipulate Jack into going through with this scam? And if so how did it benefit her in the first place? In fact, if his father was the one one who set it all up ( as you are surprised to find out) how did NOT robbing the casino help him out, as I heard it that the casino caper was foiled due to Jack's girlfriends nosiness. Was it all just set up by his father as you are led to believe? And if so, then how did he get his end?
Ok, Please help out an obsessed movie goer with the subtleties of this excellent film. Thanks and by all means it's worth seeing.... -
I would have written a review of this if I had known it was publishable. This film has been around a while. Incidentally, I loved it, but I'm still fuzzy on the plot. What I liked about it...it's one of the best casino films I've seen. As a dedicated blackjack player, I got a big kick out of much of it. As a character study, it was awesome. Some critics couldn't stand the voiceover, but I thought it was cool and appropriate. I could relate to the guy. In fact, I think I want to become a croupier/struggling novelist. (Well, I could do without the struggling part.) Oh, and very cool score. Somebody criticized the pacing, but I thought it was appropriate, because I have tried peddling stories and I have spent hours in casinos. So here are my questions about the plot... SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS Who killed the girlfriend? It wasn't dear old dad, was it? And what's this someone is saying about the gal who got fired being in on the robbery? I need to watch it a second time. END SPOILERS END SPOILERS END SPOILERS
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I went to go see it this afternoon on AICN's recommondations. Thanks for creating this site, Harry! Good call on this film! You have to pay attention to it. Lots of twists and turns. I'm surpised this film didn't get a wider release! It's intelligent, well thought out and directed by Mike Hodges who did the original "Get Carter." To the poster who said Owen Clive would make a great James Bond, I highly agree. The tux, the constant smoking and hard drinking(Vodka martini's, no less!) and the gratuitous sex scenes. He looks liek a cross between Hoagy Carmichael(Fleming's model for Bond.) and Sean Connery. Given a few years when Pierce is no longer interested, Clive is your man! Just hope they write great scripts for him. See this film!
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So spooky seeing a British film that disapeared over here doing well in the states, normally the roles are reversed, will have to go hunt the video down. One question with a big spoiler, why does Ed Nortons character in Fight Club keep being called Jack, in the book he is not given any name and the reason for this is......********* SPOLIERS ******** his name is Tyler.
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Okay, for all you "dolts" out there... ;)
(REALLY HUGE MONSTROUS SPOILERS)
Jack's father was not behind the robbery, but he did help set it up. It's very simple really. He got the robbers an "inside man" at the casino, and I'm sure they paid well for it. Remember he was the one who called Jack up and suggested he try to get a job at the casino. Jack's dad pulled off a great double cross and managed to share some of it with his son. Jack's dad didn't care if the robbers were successful or not because he'd already gotten his money. Maybe he knew Marion would find out, maybe not.
Regarding Marion's death...The policeman said "we think it was a hit and run, but it might have been a revenge killing". Of course Jack latches onto the idea it was revenge. It wasn't, it was a hit and run. Later on in the movie, when he's in the car with the black waitress, she almost hits a girl walking across the street, which I take as a sign from the filmmakers that we're supposed to understand Marion died accidently.
Bella got fired for smoking dope. It was the other croupier, Max (the short guy) who ratted on her. He knew what she was into, and he thought SHE was the one who reported that he was cheating the casino. They didn't really like each other, remember?
To Meat Takeshi: The reason everybody calls the character Jack in Fight Club is because of the voiceover in which he's always saying stuff like "I am Jack's raging bile" and "I am Jack's complete lack of suprise." Since referring to the character as Narrator just isn't very comfortable, everybody latched onto the name Jack. It's kind of a given that's not his real name.
(END OF THE MASSIVE SPOILERS)
Okay, an aside to uncapie... Harry hasn't seen this movie as far as I know...and I know for a fact Moriarty hasn't yet. *I* am the one who recommended it and *I* am also the person who suggested Clive Owen would make a good James Bond. Get your facts straight.
Also, I did make a mistake about Gina McKee. My excuse is that I only saw Notting Hill once, and it's been quite a while since then. The VillageIdjut must watch it every other week or something...
But the REAL reason to see this movie isn't for the caper, it's for the character. Don't forget that. -
Clive Owen could be the next big thing from Britan. He should get a call from Hollywood soon, probably to play the bad guy in some cheesy flick.
Probable Mr Bond? -
Yes, I know you recommended Clive as Bond, but Harry did create this site and without this site, your review would not appear. So, next time I'll put the reviewers name in the sentence in order to differentiate between the creator and the writer. I was thanking the both of you and without your review, I would have never seen this film. Thanks for the slap in the face.
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I really enjoyed this movie a lot. I hope that it gets much wider distribution than just the art house circuit. It really annoyed me that the guest jackass of the week over at Ebert's show didn't like the film...did any of you see that? He seemed really petty and defensive. What a dork.
For those of you who are interested, there's a much more indepth review of "Croupier" over at Dangernauts.com. The URL is http://dangernauts.com/html/dfr_09.html (There's also an "X-Men" review over there, although that's fairly old news by now...)
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He read for the new part on The X-Files (that went to Robert Patrick). Clive will be the next big thing.
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Persona,
Thank you for taking the time to replying to my questions. I do, however, find that some of the logic does not follow through. While true that Jack's trip home with the black prositute results in a near hit and run there are many other coincides in Marion's death. For instance, she was a sacked police officer looking for a way back onto the force so she could leave her store detective job. She clearly finds the 10,000 dollars behind the refrigerator. Plus, she listens to the answering machine when the crime will be taking place. It is a short leap from these motives to her having informed on the robbery so as to be put back in the good graces of the police. The policeman saying that it may be a hit and run just as easily could explain away the rather brutal crime before him and the lack of investigation that will follow. Whether Max fired Bella may be true, however, how would Max know she had smoked grass the night before. Only Jack and Bella knew that. This gives her a perfect excuse to somehow be extracted from the crime. When she convienently shows up at the end, it must make you wonder how far she was involved. Thanks for the comments... -
This has to be the absolute worst movie I've seen this year. I can' understand how this even got mixed reviews. The dialogue and script was stilted and awkward. The characters were unbelievable and silly. uhg...and gouge my eyes out if I had to see Jack where is "artsy" film-noir hat while he writes and narrates from his book. I was actually embarrassed for him having to be in this movie. And the voice-over...lame...the parallells from his book to the real-life action were obvious and pointless. The surprise at the end of hid Dad pulling the strings...that's it? That's the twist? I went into this thinking there would be lots of twists and turn and I'd have to think about it a lot when there was really nothing to it at all. The only "mysterys" were there because of poor film-making and story-telling (ex. being the hit-and-run of his girlfriend). There was no plot twist. Nothing. An empty movie with boring characters. The Brits had it right when they avoided this dog.
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Nice film with good acting, crisp direction and a crackling script. Also, the racial subtext was intriguing, if a bit old world. All in all a solid flick worth seeing more than once.
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While I didn't think "Croupier" was a great film, it certainly was a good one, especially in comparison to most of the films currently in release. I found myself running the film's events over and over in my mind afterwards. And Clive Owen is certainly star material. If you're a fan of film noir, this is a movie for you.
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