Croupier is a 1998 dark British movie set in the sinister and shadowy 1970s. It was directed by Mike Hodges and starred Clive Owen.
Croupier focuses on a struggling writer employed at a Casino as a croupier and strategically placed between the pit bosses and the bettors. It’s the movie that launched Clive Owen’s career.
The Main Story
Jack (Clive Owens) depicts a man damaged by his gambling father, a drunk and a womanizer. His father gets him a job as a croupier at a London casino. Jack soon becomes a skilled card manipulator with complete indifference to the player’s losses and wins and it’s only for as long as their shifts last.
Owens depicts a cold, controlled man who doesn’t gamble; however, he does not gamble at casino games of chance, but he places high-risk bets in his personal life.
Jack writes a book about an unfeeling croupier who gets a kick out of watching gamblers lose at the tables. The book was, in essence, based on his own life.
Over the years he gets drawn into the seedy side of the casino world of cheating, drinking and sleeping around.
The Ending
By the end of the movie, he juggles relationships with three women whilst scheming to defraud the casino.
Towards the end of the movie, Jack finishes his book and gets it published anonymously. It becomes a bestseller, but he continues to work as a croupier and live in his basement flat. He didn’t even buy himself a new car.
Croupier is a gambling movie with a twist and viewers get more than they bargained for with its unexpected ending. The message people take away with them in Croupier is about individuals trying to control and anticipate the odds of their lives similar to gamblers who are always trying to beat the odds.