One of the very best movies of this beloved and sleazy genre.
Croupier (1998)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:53
Fresh:52
Rotten:1
Average Rating:7.6/10
Consensus: The writer slumming for human truths and real experience is a common enough story, but this cool-headed and slick thriller provides a gut-churningly compelling backdrop to a look at our darker sides.
Synopsis: CROUPIER tells the complex story of an aspiring writer who must take a job in order to pay the bills. Experienced as a professional croupier, Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) is hired by an upscale casino... CROUPIER tells the complex story of an aspiring writer who must take a job in order to pay the bills. Experienced as a professional croupier, Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) is hired by an upscale casino in London, where he intends to silently observe the goings on while continuing to work on his latest novel. Tensions begin to emerge between Jack and his girlfriend, Marion (Gina McKee), when he finds himself succumbing to the temptations that the gambling world presents; most notably, the gorgeous Jani (Alex Kingston), whose mysterious intentions eventually make themselves clear. As the story unfolds, Jack begins to realize that he is becoming the immoral hero of his novel, and is, in fact, giving in to these temptations to provide him with subject matter that will make for a memorable work of fiction. Mike Hodges and Paul Mayersberg have crafted a taut thriller that keeps the twists unfolding until the film's very last shot. As a tribute to Mayersberg's script, Hodges insisted that he share the film's author credit with the scribe. This unprecedented decision, combined with Clive Owen's seductive, highly irresistible performance, results in a motion picture that is an intelligent throwback to the crime films of yesteryear. [More]
Starring: Clive Owen, Gina McKee, Alex Kingston, Alexander Morton
Starring: Clive Owen, Gina McKee, Alex Kingston, Alexander Morton, Kate Hardie, Paul Reynolds, Nick Reding, Nicholas Ball, Ozzi Yue, Tom Mannion, James Clyde, Emma Lewis, Kate Fenwick, Ciro De Chiara, Barnaby Kay, Sheila Whitfield, John Radcliffe, Eddie Osei, Doremy Vernon, Claudine Carter, George Khan
Director: Mike Hodges
Director: Mike Hodges
Screenwriter: Paul Mayersberg
Producer: Jonathan Cavendish
Composer: Simon Fisher Turner
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Release:
Mar 9, 2004
Reviews for Croupier
Polished and adroit ado about next to nothing, Hodges's film owes everything to Owen, who nails the vaguely unsavory, unreadable, half-lidded hunks that inhabit every profitable entertainment-industry outpost.
It's amazing the level of suspense that Hodges builds as Jack/Jake intermingles with other people.
With its fascinating, multi-layered plot, intelligent screenplay, and subtle-yet-undeniable tension building, Croupier is an engrossing, stylish thriller that never threatens to wear out its welcome.
Clive Owen is like man heroin...he gets into your blood and gets addictive!
A quite satisfying examination of a man caught between his need to feel and his fear of feeling too much.
An alternate and superior British version of Rounders with elements of Reindeer Games and hilariously unnecessary voiceover narration thrown in.
The choice of Clive Owen as the star is a good one. He's got the same sort of physical reserve as Sean Connery in the Bond pictures.
For 95 percent of the way, it is an engrossing tour of an attractively seamy side of life and a fascinating character study, despite having a novelist for a hero.
For refusing to lie down and let his film die and for returning some much needed cred to British cinema, Hodges deserves another roll of the dice.
Clive Owen conveys a sharp, cynical intelligence that rolls off the screen in waves whenever he widens his glittering blue eyes.
Croupier is a thriller without car chases or explosions which works as an intense, swiftly-paced winner.
As for director Hodges, he has made a thinking man's thriller that comes up aces.
Seldom will you see a film so well crafted, and you will likely go a long way to find performances even half this good, especially Owen’s and McKee’s.
Far more successful at the gambler's rush than Matt Damon's schoolboy lessons in Rounders, Croupier is worth taking a chance on.
One of the most exciting discoveries of the 2000 Floating Film Festival.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Techland lists the best Sci-Fi films of this decade.

Moviefone takes a look back at the biggest stinkers of the past 10 years.

The Me and Orson Welles star answers reader questions on TIME.com.

Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill offers his thoughts on what the best decade for film was.

In the AV Club's "Scenic Routes," Mike D'Angelo reminisces about the Tim Burton film.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic


