Didactic, moralistic, blaringly metaphorical character study of a would-be serious writer who loses himself in the job of a casino dealer. (Fertile ground for themes of chance, risk, cheating, betrayal.) A little thin in atmosphere and opaque in plot, but highly creative in its voice-over narration, the hero relating events in the third person, with novelistic (or schizophrenic) detachment: "He had discovered there was a price to pay for this double life of his." And Clive Owen is inscrutably controlled, submerged, undemonstrative in the lead role. With Gina McKee, Alex Kingston, Kate Hardie, Alexander Morton; written by Paul Mayersberg; directed by Mike Hodges. (2000) — Duncan Shepherd
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