So this is what "Rounders" and "Reindeer Games" were supposed to be like.
Not that the wonderfully wry and suspenseful gambling thriller "Croupier" should come as a complete surprise. After all, it comes from a director, Mike Hodges, who has influenced both Quentin Tarantino and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" filmmaker Guy Richie.
But given Hodges' more recent output — which includes the deliriously bad "A Prayer for the Dying" — there was at least some cause for concern.
Fortunately, the Hodges who shows up here is the same one responsible for such films as "Get Carter," a 1971 British gangster film that has been "rediscovered" by fans of the genre — and which is currently being remade with Sylvester Stallone playing the lead role that was originated by Michael Caine.
Speaking of Caine, Hodges may have found a similar, unshakably charismatic lead in British television actor Clive Owen, who stars as Jack Manfred, an aspiring but unsuccessful novelist.
Lacking inspiration, Jack's been unable to finish his latest work. Lacking the cash to pay his rent, he takes a job as a croupier (dealer) in a London casino — something he is loathe to do because of a past gambling problem.
There, he becomes a favorite of casino manager David Reynolds (Alexander Morton), who admonishes him about fraternizing with gamblers or even his fellow casino employees.
But Jack soon violates both of those rules, first with another dealer (Kate Hardie) and then with a professional gambler (Alex Kingston, from television's "ER") who tries to involve him in a gambling scam.
Needless to say, his girlfriend Marion (Gina McKee) isn't exactly pleased with these developments and begins to wonder if Jack isn't getting a bit too caught up in what's supposed to be a "secondary" job.
Not to give too much else away, but few of the characters are what they seem — though the double-crosses and revelations that follow certainly aren't on the ridiculous scale of those in "Reindeer Games."
Hodges and veteran screenwriter Paul Mayersberg ("The Last Samurai," "The Man Who Fell to Earth") do a superb job of pulling the rug out from under us every time the story starts to feel predictable, and the tension creeps to almost unbearable levels throughout the final third.
Simon Fisher Turner's moody jazz score certainly helps, as does Owen's cool-as-a-cucumber performance. (The film also has one of the few good uses of voice-over narration in recent cinema.)
"Croupier" is not rated but would probably receive an R for occasional use of strong profanity and crude slang terms, two particularly violent beatings and some gunplay, full female nudity and simulated sex. Running time: 91 minutes.
You can reach Jeff Vice by e-mail at jeff@desnews.com