WoW! I loved it! Nicholas Cage was fantastic. The movie had my rapt attention the whole way, with only one or two moments where I was jarred by an inconsistency or such.
Other opinions?
Funny in parts, but too obvious. I predicted the story twist very, very early.
- Tamerlane
I thought it was brilliant. I love con artist movies, but the ones I’ve seen lately, like Confidence, have all been dull and predictable. What I loved about Matchstick Men was that even if you could predict the twist (which I didn’t) there was so much more substance to the movie to enjoy. I do think it’s been marketed incorrectly, because it’s more of a psychological study than a caper movie.
I’d like to see Nic Cage at least get an Oscar nomination, and maybe one for the director as well.
I think the trailers did a fantastic job of not giving it away though. Indeed I think this could be an Oscar for Nicholas Cage, depends on how the rest of the year looks.
I thought that, aside from Nicolas Cage overacting and having his Twitch Factor set on 11, it was a well-acted, worthwhile caper film. I saw the twist coming a few minutes before it was revealed, and because I liked the characters, it was effective anyway.
Alison Lohman is amazing. She’s the one who will be garnering Oscar attention soon. Maybe for this movie, maybe not.
I thought it was pretty good; not spectacular, but good. Worth seeing. From the trailers, I was worried that Nicolas Cage was going to be overacting and it would annoy me, but I thought he totally worked for the character. I find him to be hit or miss, but I felt he was right on in this one. And yes, Alison Lohman was wonderful; an actress of a slightly less caliber, and the whole film would have fallen apart around her.
Tarmerlane, I’m curious:
[spoiler]Was there something in the story that you felt made the ending twist too obvious for you? I didn’t feel there was anything in the story itself that telegraphed the ending. Myself, I figured the Sam Rockwell character and the guy they were supposedly conning were up to something, but the fact that the “daughter” was in on it as well caught me totally by surprise. Sometimes during these types of movies, where you just know there’s going to be a twist (and it wouldn’t be a con artist movie without one), you can guess that the person you least expect will be in on it. But was there actually something in the film that gave it away for you? I’m not saying there wasn’t; I just didn’t catch anything, and I was wondering what made it too obvious for you.
The one main logic problem I had with the film, was the fact that everything, the entire con, was predicated on Roy not making the phone call himself to his ex-wife to ask about his daughter. Yeah, you can say Frank knew him well enough to know his condition and could probably guess he wouldn’t be able to make the call himself. But I find it hard to believe he’d allow even a wiggle room of chance on a building block so vitally important to the entire scam.[/spoiler]
I saw it yesterday, and was really blown away. First rate film, and Cage and Lohman were perfect. I didn’t see the “twist” coming at all.
Anamorphic:
I think they’d planned for that. Cage got his ex’s phone number from the fake shrink. It certainly wasn’t going to be his ex’s real phone number. When he first called and hung up as soon as he heard someone’s voice, that was probably Angela. I’m sure his ex would have “refused” to talk to him at all.
This is one of the rare “twist” movies that works even if you see it coming. The big surprise was Alison Lohman, who did a great job with a tough part.
Sadly, this is the sort of good, solid movie that often falls through the cracks – too slick to be an arthouse hit, too low key to be a blockbuster at the megaplexes.
Hey, me too!
Of course, I read the book a few months ago, so I guess that was destined to happen.
My friends and I saw this Friday and absolutely loved it. Even though Nicolas Cage was twitching like a maniac, he played the part wonderfully. I was also pleasantly surprised by Alison Lohman’s handling of her role.
Just saw the movie; liked it a lot. I agree that it’s much more a character-driven drama than a caper movie.
[quote]
Anamorphic:
I think they’d planned for that. Cage got his ex’s phone number from the fake shrink. It certainly wasn’t going to be his ex’s real phone number. When he first called and hung up as soon as he heard someone’s voice, that was probably Angela. I’m sure his ex would have “refused” to talk to him at all.
[spoiler]I think you might be mistaken about this; I remember Cage’s character called Directory Assistance to get the number. So it seems to be a calculated risk on the part of Frank and his partners.
I wasn’t sure about what was going on until Cage was talking to the “shrink” in the “hospital room”. What I found really touching was how Cage, the veteran con artist, even after he knows that he’s been conned and cleaned out, still holds onto the belief that he’s got a daughter, until he actually talks to his ex-wife and finds out the truth. What was done to him was far worse than the cons he pulled on other people.[/spoiler]
No, the big logic problem was not that the con was predicated on Cage not calling his ex-wife. The big logic problem was that the con was predicated on Cage’s accidentally knocking his pills down the drain and his usual supplier being gone
I think Frank tested Roy out when they went out to their first victim’s home. However, when Roy called directory assistance, he asked for a number in Woodland Hills, however Angela goes to Venice High (nowhere near Woodland Hills) and Roy’s ex-wife lives there too.
So, I’m not sure how Roy got the phone number.
But my other question is: Has there ever been a film based on con men where there wasn’t a bigger con than the one which everyone thinks is going on?
I don’t think that’s a problem.
Ack! Sorry about messing up the spoiler box; I’ve asked the mod to fix it.
:smack:
Saw it, loved it, gonna try my first spoiler box remind you that
the fake doctor told Cage that “your ex-wife of course doesn’t want to talk to you at all, but your daughter would like to meet you”
Regarding the casting of the daughter,
I had read in reviews that the actress was 24 years old. As I watched the movie, I thought she was doing a great job playing a teenager, but why didn’t they just use a real teenager to play the role? Then when we find out that the character really was an adult, that made the casting choice brilliant.
Oh, and I figured out the twist when Frank stopped moving like he was injured after the 'beating" at Roy’s house. The guy I saw it with said he figured it out when Frank moved up the date for the money exchange
Glad to see everyone’s being respectful of the “no spoilers” request in the thread title. Heh…
Let’s see…Plot points that I thought were a bit iffy:
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Him spilling his pills, and needing the other doctor. While his partner may have been pushing for him to use the other shrink for a while, I have a hard time believing that he was able to kee this whole intricate con on hold for any length of time.
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What if he really had been sick, giving him fake pills could have caused a major medical condition. That’s a high risk to take.
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How did his partner know he had such a large amount of money? He might have suspected he had a nest egg, but until the ‘daughter’ talked to him, he shouldn’t have known .
I still enjoyed the movie a lot though. And I started suspecting when they came back to the house, and the guy was on the couch with Frank…knew it when he was in the fake hospital.
[spoiler]As far as the pills being spilled down the drain… there were only a few pills left, so it’s not like it would have taken much longer for it to happen, anyway. As far as his usual drug dealer being gone, yes, that’s a problem, and one so big and blatant I’ve gotta assume that Frank must’ve paid him off to act like he skipped town, or, if Frank was desperate enough, he might have ‘gotten rid of’ him himself. An important detail that would have been nice to have proved in the long run, sure, but one that there would be almost no way to see without ruining the film. Frank had every single detail so intricately planned out to the smallest detail, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that he had this covered, as well.
No, I still maintain that the big logic problem is that it was all predicated on Cage not making the initial phone call. He picks up the phone and calls the wife, it’s all off. So what if the fake doctor gave him a fake number? You still have the problem of, if he makes the call himself, finds out it’s a fake number, there’s no con. The only way it works is if he doesn’t make the call himself.
As far as Atrael’s point #1 (“While his partner may have been pushing for him to use the other shrink for a while, I have a hard time believing that he was able to kee this whole intricate con on hold for any length of time.”), I disagree that this would have been tough. Think about it; what does he need to keep active the whole waiting period? An answering service, that’s all. As soon as Roy calls the answering service and makes an appointment, all the other elements kick in. Yeah, he’s got the other elements (the shrink, the ‘daughter’, etc.) on standby, but it’s not like everything needs to be held precariously in place while they wait for it to start. He makes the call, an appointment is made for the next day, and that gives them a full day to set everything up, which gives them more than enough time. [/spoiler]