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Croupier (1998)
Tomatometer
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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
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Release:
Mar 9, 2004
Reviews for Croupier
As for director Hodges, he has made a thinking man's thriller that comes up aces.
Clive Owen is like man heroin...he gets into your blood and gets addictive!
Actor Clive Owen proves to be powerfully unflappable -- a working-stiff James Bond, whose understated intensity draws you into the movie and refuses to let you leave.
Not since 1971's Get Carter has British director Mike Hodges made a movie as deep, dark and compelling as this thriller.
Croupier is a stylish, riveting dramatic crime story, loaded to the gills with subtext, character development, and plot twists you'll be puzzling over all night.
Croupier is a thriller without car chases or explosions which works as an intense, swiftly-paced winner.
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.
It's amazing the level of suspense that Hodges builds as Jack/Jake intermingles with other people.
Viewers who stick with it will be rewarded, not only by Owen's masterful turn, but by Hodges' prickly, not-quite-a-surprise ending.
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.
Croupier also offers an intriguing look at the writing process and the allure of writing, which in part is the ability to pull strings.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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