Acclaimed screenwriter Scott Frank (Out of Sight, Get Shorty, Minority Report) makes a promising debut with his first feature, The Lookout. Frank originally wrote the script several years ago with no intent to direct, yet the project fell apart time and time again, even under a proved director like David Fincher. Frank then took his last rewrite of the script, and with his knowledge of film-making from his experiences on other writing gigs, he set out to create The Lookout in an independent fashion.
Joseph Gordon Levitt plays Chris Pratt, a former high school athlete who recklessly killed two of his friends and injured his girlfriend in an easily avoidable car accident. He suffered a massive head injury (no, this is not anything like Memento), creating a condition in which everyday activities like opening cans and taking showers are a struggle. Chris meets Gary Spargo (Matthew Goode), a former schoolmate who manipulates Chris into being the crucial element of a bank heist at the same bank Chris works for as a janitor.
Levitt, who recently stunned us with his work in Mysterious Skin and Brick, is subtle and extremely convincing while playing a very complex, difficult character, and Jeff Daniels steals the majority of his scenes as Chris's blind roommate, creating great comic relief. Besides for Isla Fisher as an underdeveloped character named Luvlee Lemons, the cast is great all around, showing that a film doesn't need easily recognizable stars to succeed.
While containing a heist, the film is certainly not a quick-paced action movie, even though it may have been marketed as one. The first and second acts are mainly devices for developing character, and the second act does drag a bit leading up to the explosive, suspenseful third act. The Lookout has just the right length, precise and beautiful digital cinematography that looks amazingly like film, and a minimalist, straightforward, yet somewhat underwhelming structure based on memorable characters, rather than action.
Joseph Gordon Levitt plays Chris Pratt, a former high school athlete who recklessly killed two of his friends and injured his girlfriend in an easily avoidable car accident. He suffered a massive head injury (no, this is not anything like Memento), creating a condition in which everyday activities like opening cans and taking showers are a struggle. Chris meets Gary Spargo (Matthew Goode), a former schoolmate who manipulates Chris into being the crucial element of a bank heist at the same bank Chris works for as a janitor.
Levitt, who recently stunned us with his work in Mysterious Skin and Brick, is subtle and extremely convincing while playing a very complex, difficult character, and Jeff Daniels steals the majority of his scenes as Chris's blind roommate, creating great comic relief. Besides for Isla Fisher as an underdeveloped character named Luvlee Lemons, the cast is great all around, showing that a film doesn't need easily recognizable stars to succeed.
While containing a heist, the film is certainly not a quick-paced action movie, even though it may have been marketed as one. The first and second acts are mainly devices for developing character, and the second act does drag a bit leading up to the explosive, suspenseful third act. The Lookout has just the right length, precise and beautiful digital cinematography that looks amazingly like film, and a minimalist, straightforward, yet somewhat underwhelming structure based on memorable characters, rather than action.