Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Croupier Blu-ray Movie Review

The Art of the Deal

Reviewed by Michael Reuben November 3, 2015

Croupier made Clive Owen a movie star, but like so many films made by director Mike Hodges, its path was not an easy one. Shot in 1997, the film was not released in the U.K. until two years later, and it did not reach America until 2000, where it was distributed by the independent Shooting Gallery and never played on more than 134 screens. Owen, who appears in almost every scene, should have been a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination, but a prior airing on Dutch TV disqualified the film from Academy consideration.

Strong reviews, positive word-of-mouth and a DVD release by Image Entertainment ensured that Croupier was seen, despite these obstacles. Owen's mesmerizing performance, Hodge's taut direction (thought by many to be his best work since Get Carter) and an inventive script by Paul Mayersberg (The Man Who Fell to Earth) did the rest. Specialty publisher Hen's Tooth Video is now bringing Croupier to Blu-ray for a new generation of film lovers to discover.

Croupier is often called a neo-noir, because it borrows familiar elements from classic film noir. The story is narrated in voiceover by its protagonist, an aspiring novelist named Jack Manfred (Owen), who is cynical and world-weary beyond his years. Much of the film takes place at night in a milieu that's seedy, dissolute and vaguely criminal. There's a femme fatale of sorts, although, like almost everything in Croupier, she's something of a cipher. And the entire narrative is built on lies and deception. Jack himself is a master deceiver, whether it's the ease with which he changes his appearance (first blond, then brunette) or the convincing falsehoods he tells strangers and co-workers about his life. Indeed, one possible interpretation of Croupier is that the entire film is nothing more than the novel Jack has been writing at his word processor and will eventually publish—but that would make things too easy.

What we glean from Jack's hard-boiled narration, in which he always refers to himself in the third person and sometimes as an alter ego named "Jake", is that he grew up in South Africa, the son of a gambler and small-time con man (Nicholas Ball), who taught him various tricks of the trade. He learned how to be a dealer, or "croupier", by working at a South African casino, but he turned his back on that life when he came to London to become a writer. Jack despises the slick world of "star" publishing represented by publisher Giles Cremorne (Nick Reding). His frequent quotation of Ernest Hemingway suggests that his artistic goal is a kind of pure, unblinking truth, although, as one character waggishly reminds him, Hemingway ultimately committed suicide. Jack lives with, and is supported by, his girlfriend Marion (Gina McKee), a former cop who left the force two years ago and now works as a store security guard.

We piece together this biography, as Jack re-enters his old world, courtesy of a call from his father with a job prospect at a London casino, the Golden Lion. After an interview with the vaguely sinister boss, Reynolds (Alexander Morton), Jack finds himself succumbing to his old addiction—not to gambling, because he never gambles, but to watching people lose, which they inevitably do. Croupier's depiction of life in a low-rent casino has been lauded for its accuracy (I cannot speak from personal experience), and there's something thrilling in the precise but casual manner in which Hodges's camera focuses on minutia of money changing hands, cards being dealt, bets being placed and chips being swept off the table. We quickly understand the appeal of this life for Jack, over and above the generous salary: It's the self-discipline of detachment required by the job, which frees him from any messy entanglements with everyone around him, both the players and his fellow staff, since fraternization is strictly prohibited.

But detachment has consequences, and it's also difficult to maintain. Jack's late hours and the very nature of his work create tension at home with Marion. A fellow croupier named Matt (Paul Reynolds) tries to strike up a friendship and entice Jack into joining him in "blowing off steam" after work, which involves all manner of activities prohibited by the casino's management. Another croupier, Bella (Kate Hardie), immediately strikes Jack as "trouble"; she arouses feelings in him that he doesn't understand and that burst out unexpectedly at a vulnerable moment. And then there's the professional gambler from South Africa, Jani (Alex Kingston), who insists on tipping Jack even though it's against the rules, then runs into him by chance (or is it?) outside of work and ends up accompanying him to a weekend outing at his publisher's country home, where she plays him a symphony of mixed signals. Jack knows that Jani isn't what she seems—and she knows he knows it. But what is she?

Croupier takes several daring turns before reaching its deliberately cryptic conclusion. Viewers yearning for an explanation of every detail of the machinations and motives of each character will be disappointed, because Hodges isn't making that kind of movie. As much as Croupier borrows from film noir and, to a lesser extent, from con films, it ultimately becomes a kind of twisted coming-of-age film about a man who has taken a long time to find himself but, at the film's conclusion, may finally have done so. It required a special actor to trace the strange odyssey depicted in Croupier, one who could hold the screen while doing very little and let the audience sense the thoughts and feelings behind his eyes. Clive Owen has been great in many subsequent films, but he has never been better than here.

Croupier Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Croupier was shot on film by British cameraman Michael Garfath, who had previously photographed A Prayer for the Dying for director Hodges and would later reunite with Hodges and Owen for I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. Hen's Tooth does not do its own transfers, but the master it has acquired for its 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray has come from good quality source material, without noticeable damage or wear-and-tear. The image is sharp without obvious signs of artificial enhancement and reveals a healthy level of fine detail, which is especially valuable in the casino scenes. The color palette is neither understated nor overly garish; this is not a Las Vegas gambling establishment, but a downscale club in the heart of London. Bright colors are not the norm. Blacks are solid, as reflected in the formal attire worn by the casino staff, or rather they would be, if not for the disc's one pervasive shortcoming, which is overbrightness. The image appears to have been excessively lightened, so that the blacks occasionally shade to dark gray, colors seem washed out and the entire frame sometimes appears to have a layer of white haze. It's not enough to blow out detail or noticeably overstate contrast in most scenes, but the generally bright appearance often seems at odds with the film's setting and subject matter. However, without an objective reference, such as an answer print, it is impossible to assess the degree of variation.

With no extras, Hen's Tooth has mastered Croupier on a BD-25 with an average bitrate of 27.41 Mpbs, and the compression has been capably performed.

Croupier Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

My research was unable to establish the original audio format of Croupier. The closing titles (and IMDb) simply state "Dolby". I do not have Image Entertainment's 2004 DVD, but its soundtrack was labeled "stereo". Hen's Tooth's Blu-ray arrives with a mono soundtrack encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0, with identical left and right channels. Given the budgetary constraints, it is entirely possible that the film was released in mono. If anyone has definitive information on this point, please contact me.

Even though the track has only one channel, the sound editing is highly sophisticated, with sounds such as chips rattling, cards shuffling and a ball rolling around the outer rim of a roulette wheel strategically placed in counterpoint to Jack's voiceover. The lossless track brings out these psychologically crucial effects with full force, and it certainly helps that the track's dynamic range isn't constrained by limitations of the recording technology. Simon Fisher-Turner, Derek Jarman's frequent collaborator (e.g., The Last of England ), composed the minimalist jazz score.

Croupier Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The disc has no extras. Image Entertainment's 2004 DVD also had no extras.

Croupier Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Croupier begins as a tour of the small-time gambler's world, seen through the unblinking eye of the house that always wins. But it gradually morphs into something even more interesting, as that unblinking eye is forced to turn its gaze inward and report on what it finds. "Write what you know" is the advice routinely given to fledgling authors. Jack Manfred writes about what he knows as a croupier, but that is only the first step of a long journey. Hen's Tooth's Blu-ray, while not without issues, brings this unique film to the home theater in its best presentation to date. With appropriate caveats, recommended.