Croupier
This Noir Crime film is nothing short of a sure bet that you can catch on Netflix now.
What does a casino smell like? No one really knows, and in a place like a casino, you’d expect to smell something. You’d probably expect the smell of menthols, perfumes/colognes, common cocktails, anxiety, desperation, sexual urges, and greed. But instead, all air vents in casinos have tiny boxes that vaporize those expensive scents that we love so much. Our focus is so driven on the chances of winning money, we don’t even catch a moment to smell our surroundings. But while we see green, Croupiers stand by and use the sister sense of sight to witness our expressions of anxiety, greed, fear, hope, joy, and sorrow. The croupier is the one who truly laughs last because no one can deny that the house always wins. This 1998 Noir/Crime film strikes those who watch as a fresh, grainy film, even today in 2022. What is a Croupier (such a fancy word) you dare ask? A croupier is the one who distributes the hope, takes your joy, and stares a blank face at your loss, otherwise known as the dealer at the Vegas tables.
Place your bets, the house will take the rest.
Croupier is a British film that follows the life of Jack Manfred (Clive Owen), a writer by day and croupier by night. He stuck to just writing at first and lived in a flat with his lovely girlfriend Marion, but when his father called him randomly and offered a job, he had experience in, he was eager to take it. With the yearning desire to find inspiration, Jack hits the casino to find where his next story may lie while managing the bets of gambling souls. Jack’s interest in work peaks when he stumbles upon a striking woman who hails from South Africa, Jani de Villiers (Alex Kingston), a woman who informs him that he’s to be apart of a heist that will happen in days to come, and that it’s up to him to cooperate for a large sum of money. With a promising job, a croupier is not allowed to gamble, and Jack doesn’t, but will Jack take that risk? The opening sequence of my film is my favorite because it introduces the unsettling feeling we all feel when entering a casino. How could you not feel it with the one-armed bandits that surround you, the wandering eyes, the stares at machinery add up to billions in debt hoping for just the right amount that can guarantee freedom. But in Croupier the opening sequence is the imagery of the roulette ball circling the roulette wheel as those black and red (and one green) numbers cloud the eyes of those watching. I never thought how distraught the sound of a roulette ball can be until ii witnessed this opening. Jack narrates the film as it goes along being that he is the main character while also writing the story as we watch it.
What makes Croupier so fresh is the idioms, metaphors, and all the hidden meanings behind the writing. Seeing Jack write himself as “Jake” in his book is entertaining to see the duality between the characters he was writing. On the second watch, it was interesting to determine when Jack was being himself and when he was lost in his own story being Jake. Also, seeing that being a Croupier is comparable to being a Grenadier Guard in the British army. You aren’t allowed to show an inch of emotions, nor conversate with patrons gambling. It’s a robotic job that involves the same script for hours that become repetitive. Also, any good loser will tend to blame you instead of blaming the odds of chance. But then again, in the world of gambling, a good customer to a casino is a losing customer. But the key to this film is truly understanding people, something all writers truly struggle and manifest to do.
(Left to right) Behind the scenes shot of Clive Owen and Alex Kingston.
Jack goes throughout the film claiming he doesn’t gamble but quickly as he says it, the choices he makes throughout this film very much do in fact show that he doesn’t gamble money but gambles his actions which cause impact on his relationships with others. Croupier displays the duality between mindsets where in Jack’s personal life, he his kind of cold and heartless to others and does more listening than responding in conversations. Where to as when Jack is at work, he is cunning with his thoughts and the way he analyzes peopleallows him to predict the behavior and actions of those around him. Casinos are always shown from the gamblers perspective and Dealers are often day players or extras we think nothing of.But seeing a film from the other side makes us interested almost instantly. We are with Jack along on this journey as a Croupier thanks to the directing by Mike Hodges, allowing us a chance to witness what it’s like to be the dealer (especially from various low angled shots that came out damn near perfectly).
From crimes to affairs to striking conversations and twist, Croupier will leave you smirking the whole film. And come on, who doesn’t love listening to an English accent for a little less than two hours. We love the story of the underdog becoming the top dog, so watching the struggling writer live the inspiration he will soon use is even more thrilling. Also, discovering that all Croupiers can shop (report them for termination) each other makes the film even more edgy. With the odds being 35/1, the Croupier always succeeds in making the crowd lose. As Jack discovers the power in being a Croupier, he also finds himself climbing out of his writer’s block. It’s not everyday someone realizes that their life would make a great novel and writes it out. Croupier was a dark film that I enjoyed very much for its cunning fresh story, scoring it an 8.5/10. Next time you go to the casino, lay off from placing your bets for a second while you’re on a hot streak and study the faces around you and witness the faces of despair and hope all under one roof or even look in the mirror, it might be yours lacking the poker face.
