the fresh films reviews

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Matchstick Men (2003)

Director:
Ridley Scott
COUNTRY
USA
GENRE
Thriller/Drama/Crime
NORWEGIAN TITLE
Matchstick Men
RUNNING TIME
116 minutes
Producer:
Sean Bailey
Ted Griffin
Jake Rapke
Ridley Scott
Steve Starkey
Screenwriters (basert på Eric Garcias bok)
Nick Griffin
Ted Griffin 


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Roy Waller Nicolas Cage ½
Frank Mercer Sam Rockwell ½
Angela Alison Lohman
Dr. Klein Bruce Altman
Chuck Frechette Bruce McGill
Kathy Sheila Kelley

 

Review

As a crime story about conmen, Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men is painfully run of the mill and hasn't much to offer on either suspense or innovation. As a human drama, however, it is beautiful as well as poignant and a brilliant Nicolas Cage lights up every scene he is in. Still, his performance isn't flashy (like the his quirky Castor Troy, for instance), it's both deep and probing and worth its weight in gold as a psychological study. Alongside the absolutely lovely and vibrant Alison Lohman, Cage does wonderful scenes that deserve a better fate than what is offered in the film's formulaic finale. What is made to surprise (in order for the already unsatisfying mystery to become an effective thriller) does nothing else than demolish the film's best aspects.

Copyright © 8.6.2005 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang [HAVE YOUR SAY]