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Croupier

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Croupier reviews
75
7.8 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 28 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 5 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Paul Mayersberg

Directed by: Mike Hodges

Release Date:
Theatrical: April 21, 2000
DVD: March 9, 2004

Running Time: 91 minutes, Color

Origin: France / Germany / Ireland / UK

Summary

RATING: Not rated

Starring Clive Owen, Kate Hardie, Alex Kingston, and Gina McGee

A struggling writer (Clive Owen) finds a job at a casino to support his craft and to collect material for his novel, but he becomes embroiled in the temptations that come with his new life.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Taut, tense and enthralling, as smart and surprising as it protagonist.

100

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Intense, hypnotic, assured, Croupier mesmerizes from its opening image of a roulette ball on the move.

100

Newsweek Andrea C. Basora

Watching Croupier is rather like watching a roulette wheel--utterly mesmerizing.

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91

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

So sharp and dryly urbane in its mod-Brit take on the noir, noir, noir, noir world of gambling, dames, and pulp fiction, it makes higher-profile attempts like ''Rounders'' look blah, blah, blah, blah.

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90

LA Weekly John Patterson

Immensely rich, clipped and precise, with a sly, sardonic sense of humor.

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88

Miami Herald Sara Wildberger

Don't let it slip out of town without getting a look at it.

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88

USA Today Stephen Schaefer

A tiny treasure: grown-up, tight, sexy, suspenseful and with a mildly ambiguous wrap-up that stimulates the mind rather than confusing it.

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88

Boston Globe Jay Carr

It's brilliantly precise in its detailing, stylishly jagged and sensual by turns, and utterly unpredictable.

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88

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

A marvelously subversive, slyly manipulative effort.

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83

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Icy and elegant, complex and gripping.

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80

Dallas Observer Andy Klein

Takes roughly a third of its length to really get going, but, once it does, it's a devilishly clever, engaging piece of work that milks every cent of value from its tiny budget.

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80

Film.com Tom Keogh

Don't let Croupier go by without a look.

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80

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A smoothly executed jab in your solar plexus, a lean, smart film noir that pokes at you with quintessentially English disdain and sarcasm.

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78

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Croupier should please people who take their noir straight up -- with plenty of twists.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Croupier, immersed in a world of gambling, gamesmanship and crime, is a solid, seductive entertainment.

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75

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The point of the movie is not the plot, but the character and the atmosphere.

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75

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Hodges and screenwriter Paul Mayersberg fill the British production with Dostoevskian ironies, and Owen is perfect as the antihero.

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75

Chicago Tribune John Petrakis

Stumbles a bit towards the end when it focuses too much on a convoluted robbery attempt, but overall, it is a slick and intelligent look at life in the passing lane.

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75

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

There may not be much meat in Hodges' stew, but the sauce was so tasty I felt satisfied after the light meal.

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70

Film.com Ted Fry

(Owen's) existential angst and the interesting layers of character and setting give Croupier a sharp, engaging edge.

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70

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Clive Owen conveys a sharp, cynical intelligence that rolls off the screen in waves whenever he widens his glittering blue eyes.

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63

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

There are certainly glimpses of his underused talent. But there aren't enough of those moments to elevate Croupier above the level of routine melodrama.

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60

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

Polished and adroit ado about next to nothing, Hodges's film owes everything to Owen, who nails the vaguely unsavory, unreadable, half-lidded hunks that inhabit every profitable entertainment-industry outpost.

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60

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Demonstrates that a movie need not be good to be cool.

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50

TV Guide Ken Fox

The film fires off too many intriguing plot possibilities that remain nothing more than that.

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50

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

The twists and revelations of this rigorous noir reduce it to canned psychodrama.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

A very smart noir about gambling, smartly directed by Mike Hodges -- until almost the very end. It craps out in the decisive London casino heist scene.

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25

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

An airless, mannered mess.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Yoon C. gave it an 8:
A fine thriller tightly constructed of elements from class-conscious kitchen sink British cinema and the tricky conventions of the crime genre. Enjoyable for its expert handling of formula and moving for its deeper psychological concerns.

Roland C. gave it an 8:
Thoroughly enjoyed the intense, brooding character of the leading bloke. The supporting characters and plot were a bit thin.

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