Clive Owen

by Steve Baltin

August 2000 issue of Venice magazine (US)

Summer is traditionally the time reserved for special effects, mind-numbing storylines, and big star vehicles. So how has a small English film with an unknown star (in America) and a smart script filled with intriguing psychology and complex characters become one of the season's breakout hits? Aforementioned star Clive Owen calls the film's success "heartening," and fans of intelligent movies are agreeing in droves.

Croupier is one of this summer's major success stories. Released by Shooting Gallery, who Owen credits with doing a "brilliant job," on just 90 screens, the film quickly wowed critics who praised its intelligence, cunning, and unpredictability. Croupier [British for casino dealer] tells the story of writer Jake Manfred (Owen), who goes to work in a casino when he realizes the book he's trying to write is going nowhere fast. In the gaming world Jake realizes he's found the perfect material for his novel. To tell you anymore would be to spoil it. Suffice to say, there are many twists and turns in screenwriter Paul Mayersberg's superb script.

Though early in the year for it, there is already deserved Academy Award talk surrounding Mayersberg's script, Mike Hodges' direction, and Owen's performance. Though largely unknown to American audiences, Owen is a star in his native U.K., where he has appeared in films, TV and theater. His stardom there is helping him keep a level head about all the buzz surrounding Croupier here in the States. While he says he's flattered by the awards talk, he puts it in perspective by saying, "Bottom line is, I'm out of work right now; I'm just looking for a job." Spoken with a cool detachment the enigmatic Jake would admire, Owen will be the first to admit he's thrilled with the response Croupier has received.

Venice: How long have you been in the States?

Clive Owen: I've spent two weeks in L.A. and I've just come to N.Y. at this point. I've had lots of meetings. I'm trying to get a job, really.

Have you noticed a change when you go into these meetings as a result of how well Croupier has done?

Yeah. I've come to L.A. and done the rounds before for movies that haven't broke in the same way that Croupier has. The meetings are always quite hard work. You're going around and meeting people that have seen maybe five minutes on a video cassette or something like that. And I spent two weeks in L.A. this time, doing four or five meetings a day and everybody had seen the film. I think there was one person in all these meetings who hadn't seen the film. This is including producers, directors, everybody. And people seemed genuinely enthusiastic about it. So you're not having to sell yourself; the work just speaks for itself really. That was a big difference and it made for a completely different feeling than anytime I've been here before.

The movie has such a wonderful script. Did you feel from the beginning there was something special about this project?

I always loved the script. I thought it was a very original script as well. it seemed to me when I first read it that the key was the whole voice-over thing; that was, to some extent, the personality of the movie. The strongest relationship in the film is really that voice-over with the audience. And I just found it highly original and individual to have that be the strongest relationship in the whole film; it's stronger than any character because he's sort of commenting all the time and very quickly he's letting the audience into his own head, and then that personality takes you through the movie.

Tell us about working with Mike Hodges.

I think he's fantastic. It was a really, really enjoyable process. Mike made it incredibly easy that way. It's like something that was to some extent quite technical and could've been difficult but it didn't feel that way at all just because he's so assured of what he's doing. He's got tons of experience and he,s very specific about the way he makes movies. I think he should really be taking his pick of what movies he wants to do. He's had a funny career. And this film very nearly didn't make it through.

Watching the film, you really get the sense Mike understands actors and acting.

Yeah, I think he understands the whole medium, and that includes actors and writing. He worked a lot with Paul on the script. He,s just a very collaborative filmmaker as well. He's got no fear or ego, but at the same time, he's definitely the man at the helm. He keeps everything together, but he's experienced enough to let any input flow in and out. I just think he's a top man and it'd be great to do something else with him.

There really is a psychology to the gambling world. Were you knowledgeable about that before you made the film?

I gambled in my time, not in a casino.But I did get it already. It was interesting because I went to a croupier school and I trained for a few weeks. That was very interesting getting their take on it. I found out a lot more than I expected, just about their attitude and the way the whole thing works. it was incredibly well-researched. For instance, there,s an obsession about worrying that the dealers are going to rip off the casino so they're completely paranoid and up on any way you could possibly  scam them. I suppose the biggest thing I learned is that they're pretty disdainful of your average punter [gambler], really. The bottom line is, however smooth and nice they are at the tables, they're there every night, they see the money coming and going, they see the house winning, and because of that, deep down they think your average punter's a bit of a mug really. And I think I played a bit of that into the film. (laughs)

One of the things that makes the film unique is that Jake can easily be villainous and mean-spirited, not normal traits for a leading man.

One of the dangers about being an actor generally is that  it's very easy to fall into the trap of "like me" acting, being frightened to alienate your audience, especially when you're playing the lead character. And I always think it's a bit more interesting to try and push that. While I was in L.A., I slipped in the back of a cinema with a friend, because I'd never seen it with a neutral audience. I'd only seen it with cast and crew, so I was quite keen to see it with a normal audience. So I slipped in the back and I did notice that there is a phase of the film, just as you're sort of warming to him really, where he beats the crap out of the guy and there's a scene where he's with the girl in the flat. And it's very cleverly placed because just when you think you can relax and you're thinking, "Yeah, this guy's gonna take us through the film," he does something a bit dangerous or unlikable. And again, I think it's key to why the film is so tight. Just when you think you're getting to know him a little bit, he does something like that, which is surprising, dangerous, and you suddenly realize that however minimal I'm being, there's an awful lot going on underneath, but that character is just keeping a lid on it. And I think to expose that and put the lid back on just sort of intrigues you even more. You're thinking, "What is it with this guy?" You never let them settle, really, and I thought that worked really well.

Do the early difficulties Croupier underwent make its success that much sweeter to you?

Yeah, they do. (laughs) They really do. Because it did have a troubled past in the U.K., and it could have been so easily one of those films that just ended up straight on TV and nothing happened with it. And it got through. I got a phone call from Mike saying, "Yeah, it's gonna get a small distribution in the States." It started on 90 screens and then when the first reviews came out they were faxed to us and it was like, "My god." They were fantastic reviews. And then they just kept coming and coming. And now I think it's on over 130 screens and I just never read reviews like it. But not just a handful; we're talking 30 or 40 reviews that were fantastic. And it does make it sweeter. In terms of my feelings and thoughts about Mike Hodges, it's one of the rare times when the good guys won. Some little film that could've been so easily overlooked and it's had complete word-of-mouth success really. Shooting gallery has handled it brilliantly, but they didn't have tons of money to throw at it. It was released with a group of films as a very small, modest release, and there wasn't tons of money for advertising at all. And it's just grown and grown and grown. And it seems to be a complete word-of-mouth success, which is heartening. You get to a point sometimes where you look as the whole distribution thing and you think, unless you've got friggin' three million to throw a film out, how do you compete with these large organizations throwing masses of money just to get the thing into the public consciousness? And yet, a small film like Croupier has somehow managed to make quite an impact, just on, I hope, being a good film.

All of the above thanks to Genevieve.