The Lookout (2007)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Scott Frank

Writer (WGA):

Scott Frank (written by)

Release Date:

30 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Whoever has the money has the power

Plot:

Chris is 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.

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Athlete | Heist | Janitor | Planning

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Chris Pratt
Jeff Daniels	...	Lewis
Matthew Goode	...	Gary Spargo
Isla Fisher	...	Luvlee
Carla Gugino	...	Janet
Bruce McGill	...	Robert Pratt
Alberta Watson	...	Barbara Pratt
Alex Borstein	...	Mrs. Lange
Sergio Di Zio	...	Deputy Ted
David Huband	...	Mr. Tuttle
Laura Vandervoort	...	Kelly
Greg Dunham	...	Bone
Morgan Kelly	...	Marty
Aaron Berg	...	Cork
Tinsel Korey	...	Maura

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and sexual content.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | Germany:12 | Sweden:11 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Philippines:PG-13 | Finland:K-13 (video rating) (2007)

Filming Locations:

Hartney, Manitoba, Canada

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

The film's translation in Russia is "Fraud"

Goofs:

Factual errors: Highway signs for Route 24 show the number in a sunflower, which designates it as a Kansas state route. But the Route 24 that passes through the Kansas City Metro area is a U.S. Route, and would have a different type of sign.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Chris Pratt: It only happens once a year, and then they die. It's like a mating ritual or something.
Kelly: Isn't that romantic?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Best of 2007" (2007)

Soundtrack:

One Big Holiday

A Bleak Winter,,,,,Fargo-Lite

This is one of those slightly odd-ball heist movies which manages to carry off the down beat vibe and still be more-or-less convincing. Think of it as a Fargo-lite. Gordon-Lovett, following on from his excellent turn in "Brick",plays a College Ice Hockey star player, whose reckless "gift" to his girlfriend ends with her maimed and two other friends dead. Four years on, he is partially brain-damaged, confused and a self-loathing young man, going to "special needs" class to help deal with day-to-day tasks. No longer functioning as he was, he maintains a part-time janitor job at night in a small town bank. The nearest he gets to his dream ice hockey career now is using the mop as his stick and some urinal disinfectant blocks as pucks; shooting them into the waste bin. If he thought he had problems now; just wait until his new found "friend" reveals why everything in his life is starting to look up.... This has that mix of oddness that works for the most part, such as Gordon-Lovett's dependence on his a blind friend and flat-mate; played really well by Jeff Daniels. The main bad guy has value, although the femme fatale, played by Isla Fisher is probably too good to be true- and her character arc is left open-ended.

Roped and corralled into helping to rob his bank, he starts to sense all in not right-but its too late to back out now.............

All in all, I really enjoyed this until the top-and-tail ending. In a few narrated scenes at the end, the writer conspires to undo a lot of the hard work. The writers pen is dropped for a broad stroke "rainbow" paintbrush , resolving a lot of issues quite flippantly and totally ignores others. Perhaps the director should have got a re-write, but as he and the writer are one and the same, this was not to be!

Still, it was a good character driven piece of film-making overall and Gordon-Lovett is one to watch. He also bears a striking resemblance to Heath Ledger both in appearance, as well as ability.