Review of The Lookout (2007) by Dalton H — 15 Aug 2008

The Lookout is an amazing accomplishment for everyone involved. From its stars (the excellent triple threat of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, and Matthew Goode) to its director (Scott Frank, writer of great films like Out of Sight and Minority Report) the film is a creative high point in everyone's careers so far. How it works is really hard to explain. After all the premise will make it sound like one of many films trying to imitate Chris Nolan's excellent Memento.

But Memento this is not. Where that flick got by with a dosage of cool that underscored the narrative, Scott Frank searches for something deeper. That something deeper is its characters, each rich and deliciously complex in a way that I barely see in movies nowadays.

True to form, Frank shows how talented a writer he is (as if we didn't already know that) that he doesn't jump immediately into heist as he spends his time building characters that we will care about to make what transpires all the more involving. That screenwriting decision works brilliantly thanks to a cast that are at the top of their game.

As mentioned earlier the films main cast, Gordon-Levitt, Daniels, and Goode, are brilliant in their own unique ways. Levitt brings a shining complexity to this film like his previous work in Mysterious and Brick. The guy is incredibly talented and he deserves the highest praise for his performance. The key to it all is how Chris Pratt is portrayed. We see him at first as a high school star, easy going, fun, and more than a little cocky. But within minutes we see a different side of him after the accident, filled with vitriol and anger tinged with regret. The little aspects of his personality before the crash comes up in little details that makes you sympathize and like him. He fully resents his mental condition and his battle with it is one of the films highlights.

Jeff Daniels is a highlight as well. His performance is memorable as the sarcastically awesome Lewis. His role is totally heartfelt though, as he and Levitt have magnetic chemistry, playing off one another in a way that only Frank could cook up. He also proves to be a great mentor figure to Chris, as evidenced by his conversation with Luvlee (Isla Fisher in one of her best performances).

Matthew Goode and Fisher are also apart of this brilliant ensemble as Gary and Luvlee, two people who draw Chris into their world by (especially in Gary's instance) playing to who he used to be. Goode is...well good as Gary, an incredibly interesting figure who we know is playing Chris from the start, but he draws us in thanks to his enigmatically likable performance. Luvlee, on the other hand seems to care for Chris, as their relationship is carefully detailed, which brings me to first flaw of this picture.

As good as Isla Fisher's portrayal is, it basically goes nowhere as the movie progresses, with Frank not knowing what to do with her character in the long run. This is disappointing when almost everyone else is developed so involving its frustrating that he stumbles here. Still, I said almost because the second and final flaw comes from yet another character gone wrong. In this case its the fact that, from the start, Bone (Greg Dunham in a fine performance), the heavy of the robbers, is extremely one dimensional. In a movie full of complex, three dimensional characters, his character lacks a lot of depth.

From the quieter moments of dining with family to the gun-blazing heist-gone-wrong, Scott Frank shows that he is a talent to lookout for in the future. In a genre filled with less-than-stellar offerings on a yearly basis, The Lookout sets a high-water mark of quality for crime dramas.