Review of The Lookout (2007) by Devon B — 09 May 2010

The Lookout is an indie film with a simple story: a young man suffers a brain injury after a car accident and is used by some bank robbers to help rob a bank. This movie reminded me a little of "Before The Devil Knows Your Dead" and "A History of Violence" only it's vastly inferior to both (critics seem to be giving it positive reviews based more on it's indie cred than anything).

High schooler Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is out with his girlfriend and another couple on prom night. They're driving down a deserted country road, looking at fireflies with the headlights turned off.

One thing leads to another and Pratt is living his day to day life one step at a time, unable to process simple tasks or properly sequence the steps of his daily routines. Living with a colorful, yet dignified blind man (Jeff Daniels), his life is mundane and sad.

He goes to a special class and works as a janitor at a small town bank. Things perk up for him when he meets Gary (Matthew Goode), a cool, tattooed Tommy Lee type who introduces him to some hot girls ("Wedding Crasher"s hot psycho, Isla Fisher) and cool bros.

Before long, he's running with the kind of crowd his blind mentor disapproves of. They enlist his help in casing the bank, plying him with dreams wealth and respect (something he hasn't had since his high school days).

It's clear the film is inspired by better films and I think director Scott Frank does a fine job, but story (also written by Frank) is weak and derivative. It's high school fantasy-type stuff that never goes deeper than the surface.

It's fine for what it is, which is a middle-of-the-road, low budget indie film, just don't expect too much.