Thursday, August 11, 2005

Rambling, Gambling Clive


Watched Croupier last night. Directed by Mike Hodges, the director of the original Get Carter and Flash Gordon. It's a pretty standard low-budget indie-thriller, it looks looks it was shot on video. It's mostly notable for starring Clive Owen (the last three movies I've seen have featured Clive Owen. That's kinda creepy). He plays an aspiring writer who takes a job as a croupier because he needs money. It's a good performance, despite the fact that he often looks exactly like Michael Stipe circa 'Losing My Religion'. Of course he gets caught up in various scams (including a femme fatale played by a former ER star) and ends up having his morality tested and perhaps lost.

Not being particularly insightful or creative in terms of plot, the film makes up for it with a strong sense of place and excellent action scenes of the croupier at work. Highly recommended for gambling addicts. It's no Rounders, but it's certainly not bad. More of a film noir than Batman Begins, that's for sure.

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