Review:
Within the
traditional crime drama
genre, it has become
increasingly difficult to
find serious minded films
that don't play as "hip and
ironic." Add a young leading
man to the equation, and
it's twice as likely that
you'll end up with a movie
filled with artifice and
self-awareness. In fact,
reading the description of
"The Lookout," I was sure
that this picture would be
just another film where
clever one-liners were more
important than generating
actual suspense and drama. I
couldn't have been more
wrong! "The Lookout" is a
tough and believable entry
in the arena of heist films.
Bolstered by a powerful lead
performance by Joseph
Gordon-Levitt, this film is
both true to the conventions
of crime genre and
surprisingly different. The
film succeeds with strong
character development and
provides an intriguing twist
on the traditional
protagonist...more
DVD Extras:
Commentary by
writer-director Scott Frank
and director of photography
Alar Kivilo, "Sequencing The
Lookout" making-of
featurette, "Behind the Mind
of Chris Pratt" featurette
that explores Gordon-Levitt's
portrayal of the main
character.
The Lookout Release
Date:
March 30, 2007 Studio: Miramax Films Director: Scott Frank
Screenwriter: Scott Frank Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Isla Fisher, Matthew
Goode, Carla Gugino, Aaron Berg, Kalyn Bomback, Alex Borstein, Paul Christie,
Sergio Di Zio, Morgan Kelly, Suzanne Kelly, Tracy McMahon, Toni Reimer, Janaya
Stephens, Laura Vandervoort, Courtney-Jane White Genre: Crime, Drama MPAA Rating: R (for language, some violence and sexual content) Official Website: TheLookout-movie.com
Plot Summary: "The Lookout" marks Academy
Award®-nominated screenwriter Scott Frank's ("Out of Sight"), directorial debut.
The intelligent crime drama is centered around Chris (Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
"Mysterious Skin"), a once promising high school athlete whose life is turned
upside down following a tragic accident. As he tries to maintain a normal life,
he takes a job as a janitor at a bank where he ultimately finds himself caught
up in a planned heist. The film also stars Jeff Daniels ("The Squid and the
Whale"), Isla Fisher ("The Wedding Crashers"), Matthew Goode ("Match Point") and
Carla Gugino ("Night at the Museum").
EN 5 Second Review:
If you are looking for something to watch in the coming
onslaught of action and adventure, you could do much worse than this
well done flick.
Funny,
tender and littered with elegantly written characters played by actors
cast for goodness of fit rather than star wattage Ella Taylor: LA Weekly
Where The Lookout goes is at once deliciously goofy
and ineffably sad, as Chris learns to stop hankering after the
impossible and finds a new script he can write alone, or at least with
the support of someone he can count on....more
The
Lookout naturally invites comparisons to Memento. Nick Schager: Slant Magazine
Once the heist machinations ramp up, The Lookout
becomes something of a standard-issue, sub-Elmore Leonard
caper in which double-crosses and inconvenient surprises
lead to murder, with Chris's condition reduced to a device
employed less for thematic than purely suspenseful narrative
purposes...more
It's
the characters and what they say and think that matter. The
job is only an afterthought Phil Villareal: Arizona Daily Star
Perhaps the only task tougher than pulling off the perfect
crime is making the perfect-crime film...more
Release
Date:
March 30, 2007
EN 5 Second Review:
If you are looking for something to watch in the coming
onslaught of action and adventure, you could do much worse than this
well done flick.
The
Lookout naturally invites comparisons to Memento. 