With a great script Scott has fun matching unpredictable outcomes and zany characters in one big con job.
Ridley Scott known for his canon-blast and sword-swinging epic big-dollar productions switches gear for a minimalist picture that feels like a cross between the campy humor found in Altman’s The Player while at the same time evokes the same relationship facet as witnessed in The Professional.
Matchstick Men follows the traditional film narrative route as most recent predecessors in the con film genre, this one sees a menu full of swindle plotting and characters trying to cheat their way in life by taking the easy route to making the bucks, but this isn’t about card games, pool tables and casino heists but rather the old lottery winning ticket trick and telemarketing activities. What is brilliantly added to this mix of story surprises is an interesting dynamic subplot that sees a daughter-father union showing the protagonist no longer as quick in his own game. Nicolas Cage (Adaptation) continues on his winning streak of zany characters with this neat freak What About Bob-like neurotic conman whose got a bag full of con tricks and a life full of panic attacks which are matched with Scott’s use of frantic jump-cuts. Alison Lohman (White Oleander) whose pigtails, braces help in passing herself off as an emotional 14 year-old in the role of Angela the I-didn’t-know-you-existed-daughter. Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) charms it up as the unusual sidekick with plenty of food in his mouth.
Its perhaps too much of a stretch of the imagination to have Cage’s character live this see-saw personality which sees him panting on a floor and opening doors on counts of three at one moment and then shows him in total control outsmarting anyone and coming up with smart one-liners such as “for some people, money is a foreign film without subtitlesâ€. The more pleasurable aspect of the film are his lessons in the perfect fraud which fill up the majority of the film’s plotline, and this man child relationship which brings out the charm. With a retro feel felt mostly in the soundtrack and the cool hat and shades costumes adds an undeniable chic ness to the comedy.
This film about second chances ends on a high note, one that is not expected where Scott didn’t resort to a con topping all cons type ending. Perhaps he cons the viewer into thinking that the bigger score resolution will automatically follow, instead of a road very much traveled on final, Matchstick Men breaths some fresh air into the genre giving us a little edge and one more surprise.
