Croupier

Synopsis: Jack Manfred is an aspiring writer going nowhere fast. To make ends meet, and against his better judgement, he takes a job as a croupier. He finds himself drawn into the casino world and the job gradually takes over his life; his relationship with girlfriend Marion begins to deteriorate. One gambler in particular catches his attention: Jani, whom he starts to see outside of working hours - a serious violation of casino rules. Jani is down on her luck; under pressure from her creditors she approaches Jack, asking him to be the inside man for a planned heist at the casino. Jack carefully considers the odds; it all looks so simple, but even a professional like Jack can't predict the cards he will be dealt.

Genre: Crime, Drama

Director(s): Mike Hodges

Actors: Clive Owen, Nick Reding, Nicholas Ball, Alexander Morton

Production: The Shooting Gallery

1 win & 2 nominations.


IMDB:: 7.2
Metacritic:: 75
Rotten Tomatoes:: 98%

Collection Edit Watch PDF Buy

: NOT RATED
Year:: 1998
: 94 min
: 326 Views

FADE IN:
INT. CASINO - NIGHT
A roulette table. The PUNTERS place their bets. TWELVE
PLAYERS, nine men, three women. The FACES of the men, all
ages, intense, hopeful, fearful. Which of them is JACK?
JACK'S VOICE
Now he had become the still centre
of that spinning wheel of
misfortune.
A MAN'S hand spins the wheel. The ball is thrown against
the spin. Hands, faces, chips...
JACK'S VOICE
The world turned round him...
leaving him miraculously untouched
The little white ball circles the
spinning wheel.
The PUNTERS'S faces as the ball starts to bounce. All eyes
are on the bouncing ball.
JACK'S VOICE
The croupier had reached his goal.
He no longer heard the sound of
the ball.
The back of the CROUPIER'S hand, his slicked-back short
hair, razor cut. The CAMERA moves around to his face...
JACK'S VOICE
To begin with he was Jack Manfred...
whistling sound takes Jack back in time.
INT. PUBLISHER'S OFFICE - DAY
JACK is walking through a maze of open-plan partitioned
offices. He ls casually but fashionably dressed, hair dyed
blond long, a nervous elegance about him, almost
unrecognisable from the croupier's face.
He searches for the right office. He finds it. The name on
the open is GILES CREMORNE.
INT. GILES' OFFICE - DAY
GILES CREMORNE, a public schoolboy in his late twenties
comes forward and vigorously shakes JACK'S hand. Jacketless,
he wears yellow braces. Next to his tidy desk is a slot
machine.
GILES:
Take a pew, Jack. You look well.
What's it been, two years since we
broke bread?
GILES has an upper-class accent, but an acquired street
manner.
JACK:
Three years, two months. March
'93.
GILES:
What a memory you've got. Maths
always was your strong suit. What
happened to the moaning Lisa?
JACK:
She went back to South Africa.
GILES:
(digging)
Did she?
(smiles)
You were pretty thick at one time.
JACK:
We all played the field.
GILES frowns at a memory, an implication. GILES'S mobile
phone buzzes. He picks up.
GILES:
Hi-ya... I'll call you back.
(to Jack)
Now then...
JACK:
(suddenly)
I want a job, Giles.
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Paul Mayersberg

Paul Mayersberg was born on 18 June 1941 in Cambridge, England, UK. He is a writer and director and was the film critic for Movie magazine in the early 1960s and author of 1968 film book Hollywood, The Haunted House. more…

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