Review of The Old Man & the Gun (2018) by Jhep — 24 Oct 2018

The film would have made more sense if during the bank robbery scenes Robert Redford had worn a button on his lapel saying “Don’t be alarmed. I’m Bob Redford and you’re in a scene in my Swan Song movie about a lovable old coot who robs banks but would NOT hurt a fly!”……Films based on “true stories” often get filmmakers and script writers into a lot of trouble and sadly this meandering tale is no exception. Maybe this explains why it comes complete with at least a dozen “helpful” notices that say “Tuesday, November 12th 1981, 4:03 PM” and that seem to belong in another movie……Redford is charming but his character remains so vague and undeveloped that we gradually lose interest in him. The real heartbreak here is that Sissy Spacek’s characterization is so promising that she ALMOST gives the story a badly needed core of authenticity. However the Whimsy Tsunami eventually sweeps everything in it path and - sadly-.

Spacek’s truly fine performance goes with it.