Croupier

A man who wants to write and cannot get published takes a job as a croupier through his father. He starts putting what happens at the table into his novel. The film does not present gambling as excitement; the narrative uses the croupier's view and describes the distance that watching losers creates. The voiceover runs throughout, and him narrating his own life in the third person is the film's central idea. Mike Hodges directed, with Clive Owen. It drew no interest in Britain and was re-released after succeeding in America. Who it's for: those who like cold, detached noir. Who it's not for: viewers wanting casino excitement; the film never concerns itself with winning.