The Lookout Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)April 6th, 2007
THE LOOKOUT
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2007 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
In a part that appears almost made for him, BRICK's Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Chris Pratt, a guy with a "sequencing problem" somewhat like Guy Pearce's character in MEMENTO. A foolish car ride with his young friends -- chasing fireflies at night with the headlights off -- cut his mental capacity in half when the car crashed. Since he was the driver and the one who insisted on blasting down the country road without benefit of illumination, he blames himself for his situation and for the death of two of his good friends. It's a heavy burden to bear, and his vacant eyes and lowered lips give constant testament to his mental anguish. In a performance that might well be remembered at Oscar time, Gordon-Levitt makes his character a completely believable and genuine one who earns our sympathy without any guile or artifice.
THE LOOKOUT is written and directed by Scott Frank, who received an Academy Award nomination for his OUT OF SIGHT script. In THE LOOKOUT, Frank creates a simple yet compelling sense of mood and place with just the right melancholic music and shadow-laced cinematography.
Set in a small town near Kansas City, where we learn that Happy Meals were invented, the story concerns a bank robbery. For the inside man, Gary Spargo (Matthew Goode, Scarlett Johansson's fiancé in MATCH POINT) finds a perfect stooge in Chris, who works as the entire nighttime cleaning staff at a small, isolated bank -- one with lots of cash at harvest time.
Since Chris is a good guy, even if he has trouble remembering his own sister's name and tries to open cans with a garlic press, Gary sets out to deceive him. Gary convinces Chris that he needs to be independent of his wealthy father, played nicely in a small role by Bruce McGill. Horny but lonely Chris has only his case worker Janet (Carla Gugino), a sexy woman who is strictly professional, to fantasize about. Playing on Chris's needs, Gary introduces him to Luvlee (Isla Fisher), an exotic dancer who talks like the quintessentially innocent girl-next-door.
Eventually Gary has Chris believing that Gary's gang of crooks are his new best friends. And, all they need him to do is be "the lookout for 'Detective Donut'," the cop who stops by the bank at a random time each night to give Chris a box of donuts.
Ironically, the only person in Chris's life who can see the con coming is Lewis (Jeff Daniels), Chris's blind roommate. The always terrific Daniels (THE SQUID AND THE WHALE and SOMETHING WILD) makes his character so interesting that you feel like lobbying the studio to make a movie just about Lewis. Even if he is currently working as a telephone customer service rep for 1-800-FLOWERS, Lewis has big plans. He and Chris, who has great difficulty even drinking from a bottle, are going to turn an abandoned gas station into a restaurant called LEW'S YOUR LUNCH. Lew is short for Lewis, but the loan officer at the big bank where they try to borrow start-up funds suggests another restaurant name might have more positive connotations.
As the movie gets to the big heist, it isn't clear how it will all end up. Gary's guys are a mixed bag of criminals, but one in particular is downright scary. Can Chris stand up to them and is there anyway he might be able to even temporarily outsmart them? You'll be rooting for him the whole time and hoping that he will somehow be able to save himself.
THE LOOKOUT runs 1:39. It is rated R for "language, some violence and sexual content" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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