Vida Garman in Croupier (1998)

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Review

After years of disappointing efforts, acclaimed British director Mike Hodges (1971's Get Carter) made a sure-footed, spot-on comeback with Croupier (1998), a writer's story set in the world of high-stakes European casinos. Clive Owen plays Jack Manfred, whose father gets him a job as a croupier—which is a fancy term for the guy who runs a roulette wheel. In short order, Jack is dazzled and seduced by glamour-siren Jani de Villiers (Alex Kingston), who sways him into joining her on a criminal caper that comes with, as one might expect, unexpected consequences. Croupier is an artful, beautifully crafted film made all the more dazzling when Ms. Kingston comes tumbling out of her clothes amidst all those tumbling dice.