Croupier (1998)

Clive Owen stars in this little seen Mike Hodges film, and does a fine job as aspiring novelist Jack Manfred, who takes a job in a London casino as a croupier. Jack provides us with narration through the film, snippets taken from his book, which essentially becomes his own life as his life slowly comes apart with the seedy, sleazy casino business engulfing his existence. Croupier provides an eccentric atmosphere, it’s easy to spot influences on Hodges’ film but more difficult to nail down anything that’s quite like it, and that’s very much to its advantage. Jack’s attempts to stay straight and provide for his girlfriend (a terrific performance by Gina McKee) begin with the best of intentions, but slowly stutter under the pressure and corruption surrounding him. Croupier came and went on its release in the UK and it’s a real shame, if you can track it down (it's now available on 4K Blu-ray) it’s a particularly interesting and alternative perspective on the Casino industry; although told from the inside like Scorsese's Casino (1995), it's a more introspective tale focusing on Owen's Jack, and all the better for it. 7.6/10