>From: "Carrie Pruett" <
pruettc@hotmail.com>
>Incidentally, anyone who thinks they can explain the
ending of "Croupier"
>to
>me is welcome to e-mail me. I saw this movie 2 years
ago or whenever it
>came out and have yet to encounter anyone who
understood it . . .
>
>Carrie
Big spoilers ahead, so anyone who hasn't seen the movie
please turn away...
S S S P P P O O O I I I L L L E E E R R R S S S
All of the following is my interpretation, and won't make
much sense if you haven't seen the movie.
CROUPIER seems to me to be a character study of Clive Owen's
character. Although I've seen it suggested that he's a
gambling addict, it seems to me he's addicted to the power
and control that comes with being a croupier. He likes
controlling the fate of those who sit at his table. He likes
being in charge. The only two times in the movie when he
loses his cool: 1) When his girlfriend finds the money he's
accepted to arrange a diversion for a heist, and 2) when his
girlfriend turns up dead. There he can't control
things.
He resist being drawn into casino life (drawn in again,
apparently) but it's clear that's what he wants to do. His
own personality and the character in the book he's writing
(also called CROUPIER) begin to merge. To me, the key scene
in the film is when he's sitting at his typewriter, dressed
in his tuxedo.
At the end, of course, it turns out he's been played all
along, but he doesn't care, because he's gotten what he
wants.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
Graham
--------- http://www.BleekerBooks.com
Hardboiled and Noir
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