A few plot gaps leave the viewer with some unanswered questions, but they are minor. It also weaves in love, sex, deceit and betrayal along with robbery and murder. It examines the psychological aspects of the gambling casino from the inside out, allowing us to look at the trade from the casino's perspective. There is a wonderful multi-layered texture to the story. His feeling of control is delusional as he is being manipulated by unseen forces that are beyond his comprehension.

However, as time goes on he is seduced from observer to participant, gradually breaking all his own rules and justifying his decadence by convincing himself that he has become the character in his book.

He becomes an impassive observer of the gambling culture on both sides of the table, taking mental notes that are later incorporated into his book. He takes the job to make some extra money, but soon he realizes that it would be an excellent setting for a novel. Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) is a struggling writer, who on the advice of his father takes a job as a croupier at a local casino, a job he previously held when he lived in South Africa. It makes up for the dozens of dreadful independent films one has to mine to find such a gem.

It is an expertly written story that is subtly directed and superbly acted. This film-noir crime drama gets my vote for sleeper of the year.