Matchstick Men
(2003)
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Roy Waller (Nicolas Cage) is a conman and trickster who has had to overcome enormous problems with obsessive-compulsive disorder in order to stay on top of his game. His partner in crime, Frank Mercer (Sam Rockwell), helps him run a daily business conning housewives out of their money with telephone scams. Frank is frustrated with their small-fry clientele however, and urges Roy to look for bigger business ventures. Roy resists Frank's urges, and instead leads a bizarre existence in which he is completely dominated by his compulsions to clean, eat canned tuna every night, and open his front door three times before he can walk through it. His world is turned upside down, however, when he starts seeing a shrink who helps Roy to get in touch with his missing 14-year-old daughter, Angela (Alison Lohman). Angela soon becomes embroiled in Roy and Frank's scams, pushing Roy to take on a grandiose scheme that could give them financial security for the rest of their lives. |
Closer in scale and spirit to Thelma and Louise than his recent range of ambitious widescreen spectacles, this crime comedy drama from director Ridley Scott is a low-key movie with a high-profile lead. Nicolas Cage plays an experienced conman who is also afflicted by an obsessive-compulsive disorder that makes him nervous, disorientated and a cleanliness freak. The fact that this is utterly at odds with his lifestyle choice does stretch credibility, but it also allows Scott and his technical crew to indulge in all sorts of appropriately edgy cuts and compositions. The story really begins when Cage and partner Sam Rockwell embark on a high-stakes scam, just as the former discovers he has a bright teenage daughter (an eye-catching Alison Lohman). The bonding scenes, as dad lightens up and passes on some basic scamming skills, are played beautifully, yet the script cheapens this sharp Paper Moon-ish setup with a predictable con of its own. Great cast, weak payoff.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Glossy caper with smart performances.