A favorite older crime thriller about an inside man was 1978's The Silent Partner with Elliot Gould and Christopher Plummer. Croupier combines that film's excitement with a hardboiled surface of its own, courtesy of Paul Mayersberg's fine script. Jack Manfred's voiceover steps into the 3rd person to dryly comment on himself and what's going on in fine Jim Thompson fashion. The story develops naturally and every plot turn and incident is something we haven't seen very often, if at all. It really gets one's attention.

Our hero Jack is quiet and unresponsive but hides a desire to succeed that he cynically believes will never be satisfied. He holds great pride in his work and likes the feeling of control over a gambling world where everyone seems to lose. He senses, but doesn't quite know that his detachment from his environment will make getting involved in a robbery scheme just too easy.

The atmosphere around the Casino is excellent, more realistic than last year's rather lightweight The Cooler. The job of croupier is examined as a workaday occupation with rewards and disadvantages. Jack's new boss is an interesting fellow easily swayed by good croupier manners and slick work with the cards and chips. Gina McKee's girlfriend is realistically demanding and nurturing, and understandably vexed by Jack's lack of emotion. Kate Hardie's co-worker first tempts Jack into breaking the staff fraternization rules, and eventually blames him when somebody turns her in for cheating. But Alex Kingston's cautious gambler is a winner that Jack admires, a player (or "punter") with the knowledge of just which buttons to push to motivate Jack to do her bidding. All he has to do is help facilitate a distraction at the right time.

But the smart dialogue and clever plotting are the best things here. Director Mike Hodges (Get Carter) has things completely in control - the crime doesn't become an excuse for excess violence or a Major Dramatic Statement. Croupier evokes the kind of thriller pleasures found only in good hardboiled fiction.

Image and Shooting Gallery's DVD of Croupier looks fine, with a nicely-transferred image that's unfortunately not 16:9 enhanced. The sound is especially clear, which is a good thing for understanding the London pronunciations. There are no closed captions or subtitles to help out. There aren't any extras of any kind either, but we don't worry about those things when the movie plays so well.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, Croupier rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Good
Sound: Very Good
Supplements: none
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: March 9, 2004