Croupier (1998): Hold on Tightly, Let Go Lightly (Blu-Ray Review)

Uunnnngh, how sexy is Kate Hardie? OK, now I’ve got that out of my system for the umpteenth time, we can begin…

Released to Blu-ray by Arrow Video this month comes Croupier, the film that afforded Get Carter director Mike Hodges a brief resurgence at the turn of the century and piqued Hollywood’s interest in Clive Owen enough for him to finally turn his back on TV work he had spent much of the 90s doing. Written by Paul Mayersberg of The Man Who Fell to Earth and Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence fame, Croupier is a coolly confident 90s Brit thriller about Jack Manfred (Owen) an aspiring writer who has taken a rejection too many. Realising he needs to put some bread on the table, Jack takes a job as a casino croupier and finds himself seduced by the high-stakes world of luck and chance. As the job takes over his life and his relationship with long-suffering girlfriend Marion (Gina McKee) begins to crumble, Jack’s attention is caught by Jani, an enigmatic but down-on-her-luck gambler played by Alex Kingston. Coming under pressure from her creditors, Jani asks Jack to be the inside man for a planned heist at the casino. It all sounds so easy. But Jack knows that even a pro can’t predict the cards he will be dealt.

Despite breakout success with Get Carter, the ensuing years hadn’t been kind to Mike Hodges. Flash Gordon may be a cult classic now, but it was an acquired taste in 1980 and a portent of the challenges to come for the rest of the decade. Missing Pieces, Morons from Outer Space, Florida Straits, A Prayer for the Dying and Black Rainbow all failed at the box office and Hodges was increasingly finding his movies beset by studio interference. By the time Croupier came around, he hadn’t made a film for cinema in a decade, having retreated to television to make the respected period true-crime drama Dandelion Dead in 1994. It was a cinematic comeback that very nearly didn’t happen – David Auken, head of Film Four at the time, despised the film so much that he claimed that the closing credits were the only good thing about it. Whether he found the credits especially stylish or was just grateful that the film was over remains unclear. Its fate appeared sealed, Croupier was to be yet another non-starter for Hodges and, frustrated, he was on the verge of retiring altogether.

It’s quite ironic then that a film about gambling required an awful lot of luck for it to succeed. Though disowned by Film Four, Croupier was at least spared the demands of re-editing and tinkering that had so damaged many of Hodges’ previous films, and the director was allowed to release it as it stood – his vision literally intact. It was this vision that so impressed American audiences on its release Stateside, and the film became something of a surprise hit, leading to a bashful Film Four re-releasing the film in the UK and getting the audiences it always deserved.

It’s easily the best of Hodges’ films since Get Carter (though I still maintain Flash Gordon to be an utterly campy, gloriously nostalgic triumph. In fact, it’s better than Star Wars. There, I’ve said it) a neo-noir about a writer turned croupier and the battle for his soul played out via a knowingly meta and whip-smart authorly narration. The film which proved to be Clive Owen’s calling card to Hollywood also provides him with the opportunity to deliver one of his best performances in a career that has arguably become more miss than hit. The sharp script from Paul Mayersberg is a satisfyingly cynical piece that boasts great multi-layered characterisation, even if the central plot is found to take second place to this key strength. Hodges provides atmospheric direction which captures the seductive thrill of casino life brilliantly, depicting the exciting romance and clammy despair that often goes hand in hand with the world of gambling, at a time when the capitalist western world began to civilise the reputation of gambling as a legitimate habit. Remember that here in the UK, the National Lottery had only just been launched, meaning that everyone was becoming a gambler. Croupier‘s arrival could not have been more timely. Also in Hodges favour is his great eye for actors, casting the characters just right and lending his leading man Owen some fine support in the shape of Gina McKee, Alex Kingston, Kate Hardie, Paul Reynolds, Alexander Morton and Nicholas Ball.

A key British film of the 1990s, Croupier is most definitely worth a spin and never more so than with this Arrow release; a brand new, director-approved, 4K restoration from the original camera negative, a bonus disc containing a feature-length documentary retrospective on Hodges’ career, Mike Hodges: A Film-Maker’s Life, and a series of extras including new interviews with Kate Hardie and Paul Mayersberg, an archive audio interview with Hodges from the BFI, an archive directors’ commentary and a new commentary from critic Josh Nelson. There’s also the usual attractive booklet boasting new writing on the movie, a fold-out double-sided poster featuring both original and new artwork and limited edition packaging with a reversible sleeve of both artworks.

Croupier