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Directed by: Mike Hodges Starring: Clive Owen, Gina McKee What a disappointment this was. I first saw the trailer for "Croupier" in 1999, attached to "But I'm a Cheerleader," and I was intrigued. That was magnified by the positive word of mouth and the film's mysterious no-show at American theaters; I thought they were keeping something great, something wonderful hidden in the archives. But no, they were just concealing a turkey that never delivers on its promise, despite director Mike Hodges' steadfast refusal to deviate from the casino film-noir atmosphere and formula. Seriously, this movie is like Martin Scorsese and Lewis Milestone's bastard love child, with a little indie existential weirdness and metafictional narrative to spice things up a bit; you think it could've been more interesting. It starts out as a crime drama, plays out like a crime drama with a little hint of "Barton Fink" as Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) struggles to complete a novel, and ends as a crime drama with a weak twist, a downright creepy ending and the nonchalant offing of a main character, all under Jack's rambling, too-hip, seemingly endless British voice-over. I almost wish I'd never seen it. All my hopes for this were shattered. 2/5 Keanu Grieves fucked around with this message at 10:12 on May 3, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 10:10
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 16:12 |
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This film is not Film-Noir, because it's shot in color.
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May 8, 2004 21:08
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quote:liquorhead came out of the closet to say: Let's call it neo-noir then.
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May 9, 2004 02:08
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