Mike Hodges, Croupier, is a film about a struggling writer who takes a job as a croupier in a local casino. Throughout the film Jack, the writer, turns into his alter ego Jake as he falls into the role of his protagonist and the lifestyle of the casino. It is important to notice the not so subtle editing, thematic montage editing, that allows the viewer to see very plainly the transformation of Jack into Jake. The film mirrors scenes of Jack with similar scenes of Jake. In the two images that I have chosen you can see the mirroring of Jack and Jake. The image to the left is from the beginning of the film when Jack is still Jack the writer, who has morals, doesn't gamble, and doesn't stand for cheats. He can hear the roll of the ball on the roulette table and notices the cast of characters that sit at his table. The image to the right is from the end of the film when Jack is now Jake, he is now the croupier who is a cheat, gambler and criminal. He no longer hears the roll of the ball on the roulette table and he is fully immersed in the scandals of the casino.
The final scene of the film the viewer sees Jack for who he has become, Jake. The way the editing of the film is one, choppy and thematic, allows the viewer to fully embrace Jack becoming Jake without judgement. The viewer is allowed to appreciate the transformation of Jack within the scene on the train when the voice over talks about Jack in his uniform and admires that he has completed his book as the croupier and not the writer.
I agree with your description of Jacks metamorphosis into Jake except that i think there is still more of Jack left. i think that Jack life collided into his alter ego and through this Jack/Jake totally rebuilds his moral code around a new lifestyle. even though he has fallen into the treacheries of the casino he still does not live a lavish life. he has enough money to move out of his basement flat and buy a car but he remains Jack the basement writer.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cooper. Jack the writer still exists within Jake--he's still narrating his life at the end of the movie and notices that Jack and Jake have become one entity. He's okay with this, and I agree with you, Kristen, that we as the audience are made to look at that last scene without judgment. While some things have to be lost for Jack to fuse with Jake, Jack willingly sacrifices these things. He's okay with the way things turned out, and to a certain extent, the audience is also. The movie ends on a note of closure.
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