McIntyre, Editing in Croupier

Croupier is a 1998 British movie starring Clive Owen as a writer named Jack who takes a job as a croupier, or a dealer, at a casino. His father, a gambler, sets up the job for Jack. While Jack begins the job as an honest and good man, he soon transforms via rule-breaking, affairs, and participation in a heist into his deceitful alter ego named Jake. Croupier follows a largely mirror setup. Scenes and lines from the beginning of the movie repeat themselves later in the movie under completely different circumstances as the audience watches Jack change into Jake and become quite comfortable with his dual selves. Throughout the movie, Jack narrates the movie as if it were a novel, revealing thoughts that he has but are hard to read by just watching his person. This enables the audience insight into Jack's mind but also blurs the line between him and Jake. Jake is the protagonist in Jack's novel and it's often hard to tell whose story Jack's telling.

Jack's relationship with Jani throughout the film very much mirrors his transformation. The first time he meets Jani, he's still an honest man and the two are little more than strangers. She keeps her eyes averted for much of the scene and barely looks at Jack. Jack recognizes her as an experienced gambler right away and realizes that she's foreign when she tries to tip him. He's slightly fascinated that she quits while she's ahead and expresses a little admiration in his narration. She leaves and the two remain strangers. Jani is just another gambler in the casino. However, she holds the dominant position in the scene, remaining in the middle of all of the shots of the table. We're forced to focus on her but do not know why--just like Jack.

While Jani sits at the table, the man behind her attempts to cheat. Jack stops him, acting a bit surprised when he attempts to place his chip onto the table late.

In this scene, Jack and Jani sit as dealer and gambler (respectively). This time, however, they are friends. She's invited him to a party and he's accepted her invitation. They act a little bit flirtatious, and Jack carries out earlier thoughts of helping Jani cheat to win. They have a lot more eye contact in this scene, and Jani's hair is down. They're dressed a lot more casually than they were in the previous scene. Both of them hold the dominant position in many of the shots of the table. We think of them as one unit now, as they are literally partners in crime. This time, the cheater in the scene is Jack, his Jake qualities shining through.

Curiously, the Jack meets Jani about a third of the way through the film and the gambling scene at the friend's house happens about two-thirds of the way through the film. Even the scenes' physical position suggests their parallel qualities.