Criminal (2004)

Two con artists try to swindle a currency collector by selling him a counterfeit copy of an extremely rare currency bill.

Director:

Gregory Jacobs

Writers:

Fabián Bielinsky (film Nueve reinas), Gregory Jacobs (screenplay),

Stars:

John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John C. Reilly	...	Richard Gaddis
Diego Luna	...	Rodrigo
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Valerie
Peter Mullan	...	William Hannigan
Zitto Kazann	...	Ochoa
Jonathan Tucker	...	Michael
Laura Cerón	...	Waitress (as Laura Ceron)
Soledad St. Hilaire	...	Waitress #2
Ellen Geer	...	Grandma
Brandon Keener	...	Waiter / Daniel
Nick Anavio	...	Café Manager
Deborah Van Valkenburgh	...	Woman in Elevator
Maeve Quinlan	...	Heather / Soccer Man
Brent Sexton	...	Ron
Malik Yoba	...	Frank Hill

Storyline

Two grifters - boyish, likable Rodrigo and the scheming, cynical Richard - meet by chance. Richard, who has cheated everyone he knows, including his siblings, is missing his partner, so he offers Rodrigo a job for a day. Rodrigo accepts because he has some savings, but needs more to pay his father's gambling debts. Richard gets a call when an aging, ill ex-associate needs help to sell a forged treasury note to a businessman whose visa is expiring the next day, a wealthy man who sees a chance to turn a quick profit buying what he thinks is a stolen document. When the con men have to improvise, Richard asks Rodrigo to use his savings to set up the deal. Is Rodrigo being conned?

---

Plot Keywords:

con | con artist | counterfeit | counterfeit money | con man | 

---

Taglines:

Ever get the feeling you're being played?

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Independent Pictures [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

7 October 2004 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Eglimatika myala

Filming Locations:

Aon Center - 707 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$283,209 (USA) (10 September 2004)

Gross:

$923,426 (USA) (22 October 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Criminal Films Inc., Warner Bros, 2929 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS (8 channels) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The writing credit for Steven Soderbergh is Sam Lowry, which is the protagonist of the film Brazil. Soderbergh also used this pseudonym on Underneath.

---

Goofs

When Richard is talking to Valerie about sleeping with William, when the scene first cuts to them, his body and head are moving as if he is saying something, yet the words don't come out until 3 seconds later, then his body stops moving yet he's still saying something.

---

Quotes

Rodrigo: I'm sorry, man.
Richard Gaddis: About what?
Rodrigo: I thought you were trying to fuck me.
Richard Gaddis: If I was going to fuck you, you'd be fucked.

---

Crazy Credits

The only opening credit is the title.

---

Connections

Remake of Nine Queens (2000)

---

Soundtracks

"Step Lightly"
Written by Dr. Benny Golson
Performed by Louie Bellson
Courtesy of Concord Jazz

User Reviews

"What's with the raped-virgin look?"

Con-man Richard (John C. Reilly) enlists Mexican petty thief Rodrigo (Diego Luna) as his new temporary partner, and soon they are engaged in a huge scam involving counterfeit money, being helped along by Richard's skeptical sister Valerie (Maggie Gyllenhaal).

In 'Criminal' you soon learn not to believe ANYTHING you see! It is an object lesson in distrust, but an engaging and wonderfully entertaining one. Who is going to f... whom over, that's what it is all about. Richard conned his two younger siblings out of their share of the inheritance after their mother, but he whines and bitches at every turn, and he proves himself to be both antisemitic and anti-black. When once again he has tried to cheat his new partner out of his cut, he exclaims, "What's with the raped-virgin look?". Richard is a terrible, terrible person, a thoroughly rotten apple who believes that "F...ing, that's when you're handcuffed on the pavement". Anything short of that he can deal with, squirming like a worm. Of his victims he says, "I don't feel anything for them. They're marks. Some of them are dumber than f ... pets!". John C. Reilly is very good in the part, although I found myself longing for just one other color on the palette, just some surprise, something not too predictable.

He says to Rodrigo, "You got something that money and practice can't buy, you look like a nice guy", and Diego Luna (the 'other' guy from 'And You Mother Too', alongside Gabriel García Bernal) has a puppy-dog appeal that works like a charm. He has genuine, unforced charm and is cuddly at all times.

Obviously, if you have watched 'The Sting' or films like the great French caper 'Les ripoux' ('My New Partner', 1984), 'Criminal' will offer you nothing new or sensational. It does have a really nice feel to it, though, taking its leisurely time to get rolling, enabling us to get to know these people. Or so we think ...

7/10