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| Movie Name: |
The Lookout |
| Grade: |
A- |
| Date Posted: |
3/20/07 |
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“Keep a ‘Lookout’ for this small gem”
In 2006, I chose the noir thriller “Brick” as my favorite film of the year. Besides the genius of the filmmakers, it represents the mounting talent of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, an actor whose stretched face projects a lifetime of painful experiences and a gloomy cloud that stalks a guilty conscience. One year later, the actor expands on his craft, forming another fully-realized character in the cerebral thriller “The Lookout.”
Four years ago, high school superstar hockey player Chris Pratt (Gordon-Levitt) caused a car crash due to horseplay that left two friends dead, one friend an amputee and himself mentally challenged. He now tries to keep his life together by attending therapy classes and writing everything down in his notebook. Common sequencing, like waking up, showering, eating and leaving for work, leave him lost and frustrated. His blind caregiver (Jeff Daniels) keeps Chris centered, and gives him the love to which his corporate magnet father (Bruce McGill) fails.
Gary, an asthmatic opportunist (Matthew Goode), surreptitiously “befriends” Chris at a bar and digs his way into the boy’s life, buying him drinks, inviting him to thanksgiving dinner and getting him laid. Only when he pulls Chris into his web with flattery does Gary spring his plan: to rob the bank where Chris works as a janitor. Gary manipulates Chris, knowing his weaknesses, his failure with cognitive reasoning, his shame over the accident, and his feeling of futility in his father’s eyes.
Chris quickly regrets his decision, but once the plan has begun, he finds it impossible to halt. Can a young man who can’t get out of bed without a reminder and a blind man stop four sloppy, but vicious killers?
Oscar nominated writer Scott Frank (“Out of Sight”) directs his first film with visual style. The opening shot of a firefly melding into a distant car headlight gives the audience confidence in the new director immediately. The entire opening sequence, a car without headlights driving in the dark through a storm of fireflies, is poetic enough to impress Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”) fans. Despite the striking visuals, there’s palpable tension. We know that something horrible is going to shatter this exquisiteness and we can do nothing to prevent it. Cleverly, Frank visually parallels the fireflies in the opening with snow in present scenes, reminding the audience that Chris’ past actions affect his present choices.
Audience must be prepared for the nature of “The Lookout.” Those hoping for a twisty thriller with surprise endings will be disappointed. The plot is rather straightforward, with the foreshadowing hints a bit obvious. Instead, “The Lookout” is a brilliant character study.
Chris, like Guy Pierce’s character in “Memento,” relies on memos to figure out his daily activities. Something as common as opening a can of tomatoes infuriates him. To fuel even more anxiety, he can’t forgive himself for negligently killing his friends. He resents his parents, but knows their wealth kept him out of jail for the accident. Levitt has become a master at conveying desolation.
Daniels is the resilient mentor character of the film; he cannot see anything, yet sees everything clearly. It’s a sly performance, one wise and humorous. Though the sage role is not new, Daniels lends a kindness in the role that makes you wish he were your guardian angel.
Goode, so distinctively British in Woody Allen’s “Match Point,” handles the Midwestern American accent and swagger handsomely. He projects fallibility, particularly sucking on an asthma inhaler, while maliciously toying with a defenseless, arrestedly-developed child.
Isla Fisher, so delectable as the loopy bridesmaid in “The Wedding Crasher,” brings a child-like quality to the bait used to soften Chris’ morality. Her face in a brief scene in a taxi speaks volumes while the dialogue says nothing.
An achingly smart thriller, “The Lookout” proves that the writer of “Get Shorty” and “Little Man Tate” has even more talent than his already successful career has displayed. Armed with one of hollywood’s freshest young actors, “The Lookout” could be the sleeper film of the art houses. Grade: A-
For other thrillers where an unwilling fall guy outwits the baddies, I recommend the following movies:
“Criss Cross” (1949) and “The Underneath” (1995), the classic noir thriller and its crafty Steven Soderbergh remake are both slick, moody and more twisty then Pippi Longstocking’s braids. An ex (the exotic Yvonne De Carlo or the earthy Alison Elliot respectively) hoodwinks a dupe (Burt Lancaster or Peter Gallagher respectively) into robbing an armored car. The heist unravels quickly and the dope needs to get ahead of the bounder about to crush him.
“Out Of The Past” (1947) – very similar to the above film, yet this time Robert Mitchum tangles with femme fatale Jane Greer. Noted visual director Jacques Tourneur (“Cat People”) helms a dark, devious mystery with deliciously witty performances.
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| Posted by: bouynxdor |
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