Innella Croupier

In the film Croupier, director Mike Hodges throws viewers through a continuous cycle of guesses and surprises. Croupier is a film about a writer, Jack Manfred, who finds a job as a croupier in order to support himself as he is trying to find inspiration for a book. At first, he is a clean cut honest man that refuses to gamble, but he soon becomes obsessed with the job and the game that gambling presents.

The image on the right is of Jack at the start of the film. He is trying to find an idea to write a book and always fantasizes about one day becoming a famous author. Once Jack starts working at the casino, he gets enthralled with the lifestyle and the control that it brings. This is what he decides to write his book on. As time goes by, he realizes that he has turned into the protagonist of his book, Jake. He no longer worries about anyone but himself and as long as he has power he is happy. The image on the left is of Jack after the casino and the lifestyle it brings has fully taken over him and he has become Jake. Notice the difference in hair color. I believe that this foreshadows what is to come of Jack. The blonde hair signifies a light personality more of an honest person while his jet black hair brings more of a darker, serious mood.

The editing in this film is spectacular. The way in which it was edited makes the transition of Jack to Jake very slight and discreet, leaving the viewer on Jack's side the entire time. This is what really makes the film great. The whole time the viewer is left thinking that Jack is a good man and then at the end of the movie the viewer realizes that he has actually turned into a power hungry sort of scumbag. This slow transition leaves the viewer surprised of what Jack has become despite the fact that they were witnessing it all along.

Phillpott, Croupier

For this week's blog, I have chosen two scenes in Croupier that mirror one another. I have picked the two "cheating" scenes because they each reflect the development of the plot in this movie. In the first one, Jack (Clive Owen) is still seen as a "good guy" by the audience. He has very strict rules in which he follows as a croupier. He is not a cheat. For the first cheating scene, Jack sees a man slip a chip onto the table after the betting is over. Jack calls the man out for it, and he behaves very rationally. Then, the manager of the casino takes care of the cheater. This scene is supposed to reiterate how very "good" Jack is. He isn't corrupt like his friend from the casino who regularly cheats.

By the time we reach the second cheating scene, Jack has become his alter ego, Jake. Jake has cheated on his girlfriend, and basically embraced another type of life--one that Jack had nothing to do with. Jake enjoys watching people lose their money. So when Jani asks Jake to help her "creditors" cheat, the audience already knows what his answer is going to be. This second cheating scene mirrors the first, but changes things up too. When Jake sees the man slipping a chip onto the table after the betting is over, we see Jake hesitate before he follows through with his announcement of the cheating. Then, the man attacks Jake so that the robbery can take place. Jake allows the man to beat him up; whereas earlier in the film, the audience was shown that Jack could fight very well. Jake simply allows the robbery to occur, which shows the 180 degree character development of Jack/Jake. He no longer holds up these "good" morals and rules to follow. Jake has successfully taken control over Jack.