Croupier (1998)

Regisseur:

Mike Hodges

Drehbuchautor:

Paul Mayersberg (written by)

Premierendatum:

21. April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Krimi | Drama

Werbezeile:

Hang On Tightly... Let Go Lightly

Plot:

An aspiring writer is hired as a croupier at a casino, where he realizes that his life as a croupier would make a great novel.

Plot Keywords:

Subway | Narrator | Writer | Greek Restaurant | Casino

Filmpreise:

1 nomination

Nutzerkommentare:

Croupier

Besetzung

Clive Owen	...	Jack Manfred
Nick Reding	...	Giles Cremorne
Nicholas Ball	...	Jack Snr.
Alexander Morton	...	David Reynolds
Barnaby Kay	...	Car Dealer
Gina McKee	...	Marion Nell
John Radcliffe	...	Barber
Sheila Whitfield	...	Manicurist
David Hamilton	...	Casino Supervisor
Carol Davis	...	Table Supervisor
Eddie Osei	...	West Indian Punter
Doremy Vernon	...	Woman I
Claudine Carter	...	Woman II
Ursula Alberts	...	Madame Claude
Neville Phillips	...	White Haired Man

Alternativ:

Croupier, Der (Deutschland)

Länge:

94 Min | Poland:91 Min

Produktionsland:

France | UK | Deutschland | Ireland

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe

Seitenverhältnis:

1.85 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Dolby

Altersfreigabe:

Finland:K-11 | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Ireland:15 | Poland:15 | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Drehorte:

Infostudios, Monheim, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Firma:

Arte

Dies und das:

Paul Mayersberg was inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (1958).

Dialogzitate:

Jack: I'm not an enigma, just a contradiction.

Croupier

"Croupier" is a British neo-noir. It has a detached character (or even better, two characters) who progressively get involved in a shadowy world from an apparently safe beginning, it has voice-overs, lots of artistic and original swearing, a depressing atmosphere and if you don't feel like lighting a cigarette with a Zippo after the movie is over, you're dead. Clive Owen gives an amazing performance as the croupier of the title, who is very conscious of his split personalities: Jack, a gambler, the writer who works in the casino to pay the bills, and Jake, a croupier, a man who enjoys watching his customers losing all his money and who makes sure he's always dealing the cards. In the end, Jack loses and Jake wins. The message is delivered in the least subtle way possible, Hell, the voice-over is practically an intellectual analysis on the movie's meaning, but it works because Jack/Jake is an amazingly engaging character and because the movie is so well directed. The crime plot, although not surprising in the least, develops itself smoothly and contains lots of unexpected sources of humor. "Croupier" is a very stylish and criminally underrated neo-noir that beats the living crap out of most of recent Hollywood releases centering about a big robbery or con. It might be heavy-handed, but it's conscious of where its strenghts lie, and Wilson is great. Why it's so criminally underrated... I don't have the faintest about.