Review of The Lookout

The Lookout

A good heist thriller usually needs to have three elements to make it good: 1) involving main character, 2) interesting heist, 3) and charismatic supporting characters. When you could figure out those three things then everything else will fall into place. Scott Frank's directorial debut takes those three aspects and takes them up a notch.

Chris Pratt (Joseph-Gordan Levitt) is a hockey star that gets into a horrific car accident that kills two of his friends and leaves another scarred for life. Chris did not come out unscathed though, he has a head injury that changes him from a hockey star who has everything going for him to a gimp who has trouble with everyday activities. Four years after the accident, Chris is living with his only friend, Lewis (Jeff Daniels) who is a blind older man who helps Chris deal with his disability. He goes to a special school that helps him with his problem and he works as a janitor for a bank in the middle of nowhere and hopes to be a teller there. All until he meets Gary (Matthew Goode) who offers him a new chance at life by helping him and his partners rob the bank he works at. Of course not everything works out as planned and all hell breaks loose during the heist.

Chris Pratt is a fascinating character in which the film thrives on. By the end he hasn't changed a great deal at all. He still doesn't see himself as a hero or a good person but rather is more willing to forgive himself in time for what he did. All he wants is to be what he was before the accident and helping to rob the bank is the best way to do that. Joseph-Gordon Levitt carries this movie easily, portraying all of Chris' problems in subtle yet resonating ways. He is easily one of the better actors of this generation. Matthew Goode also is good as the heist leader who lures Chris into helping as a way to get his old life back.

Scott Frank's writing also takes center stage creating a tight plot that is populated by deep characters. As director, Frank creates a sort of brooding atmosphere where there's always something bad just around the corner. There are some scenes that are a highlight of Franks' writing though and those are the scenes where Chris first learns of the plans for the robbery and Gary tries to convinces him that it's the right thing to do and in the final stretch of the movie there's a scene in which Chris imagines confronting the other survivor of the car accident. The whole movie is interesting and entertaining but those two scenes in particular are the high point of Frank's directing and writing as well as Levitt's and Goode's acting.

The Lookout is a great neo-noir movie where there's a lot more concentration on character then on plot. And in a sea full of overly stylized crime movies with two dimensional characters and convoluted plots, it's refreshing to see this type of thriller get made.

Posted on 02/10/08 by: matt2648 12:37 PM