'Croupier' is a very dark, very bleak noir thriller about one man and his general struggle in life. This message is put across through his inability to get a good book going and general lack of being able to communicate and holding things together.
This film just feels 'efficient'. It's never really that colourful, the characters voices never really get above a certain low decibel level and most people just seem to skulk around getting on with their business. But, what is it that makes this such entertaining viewing? Well, for one; the constant reference to the protagonist BY the protagonist is fascinating. We're well aware of his writers block by now and as he narrates everything he does, we get the feeling he's basically narrating his book. This means he's chopping and changing between 1st and 3rd person referencing, another thing to suggest he's disconnected. This connected very well with the story telling method the film got across.
The fact that early on, his father calls to tell him he's supposedly moving into a new business is not in the slight bit interesting to Jack (Owen) and this also suggests a lack of interest and communication skills with people, most noticeably this time his family. Oddly enough, this little item comes back to bite him and the viewer and acts as the twist in the end. What's also interesting is the general things about this film. The script contains constant references to 'luck' and 'chance' as well as quips like 'what are the odds?' I found this knitted in nicely with the general dialogue and there wasn't too much of it, either. Other such things include the way we see a conflict towards the end at a gambling table, yet we don't cut away to the following situation in the office where the offender was taken to by the management, like we would've done in films such as 'The Cooler' (2003).
There are very few disappointing things with Croupier but one I can't forgive is the scene that the final third of the film builds towards; the actual robbery. It was quick, chaotic and just plain bad. I had no clue as to what happened and had to wait for the characters to tell me if it had been a success or not as the images didn't tell the story at all. Oddly enough, the entire cast seem to be pretty fed up. In fact it's pretty dull, yet effective acting from all concerned and this added to the film and its atmosphere it had going on.
With most of the good principals Croupier has and very few flaws, the film ends up being a stylish, dark and close to depressing noir tale that delivers.
This film just feels 'efficient'. It's never really that colourful, the characters voices never really get above a certain low decibel level and most people just seem to skulk around getting on with their business. But, what is it that makes this such entertaining viewing? Well, for one; the constant reference to the protagonist BY the protagonist is fascinating. We're well aware of his writers block by now and as he narrates everything he does, we get the feeling he's basically narrating his book. This means he's chopping and changing between 1st and 3rd person referencing, another thing to suggest he's disconnected. This connected very well with the story telling method the film got across.
The fact that early on, his father calls to tell him he's supposedly moving into a new business is not in the slight bit interesting to Jack (Owen) and this also suggests a lack of interest and communication skills with people, most noticeably this time his family. Oddly enough, this little item comes back to bite him and the viewer and acts as the twist in the end. What's also interesting is the general things about this film. The script contains constant references to 'luck' and 'chance' as well as quips like 'what are the odds?' I found this knitted in nicely with the general dialogue and there wasn't too much of it, either. Other such things include the way we see a conflict towards the end at a gambling table, yet we don't cut away to the following situation in the office where the offender was taken to by the management, like we would've done in films such as 'The Cooler' (2003).
There are very few disappointing things with Croupier but one I can't forgive is the scene that the final third of the film builds towards; the actual robbery. It was quick, chaotic and just plain bad. I had no clue as to what happened and had to wait for the characters to tell me if it had been a success or not as the images didn't tell the story at all. Oddly enough, the entire cast seem to be pretty fed up. In fact it's pretty dull, yet effective acting from all concerned and this added to the film and its atmosphere it had going on.
With most of the good principals Croupier has and very few flaws, the film ends up being a stylish, dark and close to depressing noir tale that delivers.