A phobic con artist and his protégé are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the former's teenage daughter arrives unexpectedly.A phobic con artist and his protégé are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the former's teenage daughter arrives unexpectedly.A phobic con artist and his protégé are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the former's teenage daughter arrives unexpectedly.
- Awards
- 5 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlison Lohman went to the audition dressed and acted like a 14-year-old girl. Ridley Scott only realized her real age when she told him. She was 23 at the time.
- GoofsDespite the fact that obsessive-compulsive Roy has supposedly been locked in his house for days cleaning every square inch, dirty fingerprints are clearly visible on the door when he finally answers it.
- Quotes
Roy: Excuse me, hi! -
Pharmacist #2: I'll be right with your Sir.
Roy: [runs to other counter] Hi, I need a refill of this. No I don't have a prescription!
Pharmacist #1: Sir, please wait your turn.
Roy: I know, I know. B-but this; is an emergency.
Man in Line: Hey buddy, ever heard a line?
Roy: Hey have you ever been dragged to the sidewalk and beaten till you PISSED... BLOOD!
- Crazy creditsIn the closing credits, letters such as "M" and "W" are separated lines (presumably matchsticks), much like the type in the main title.
- SoundtracksThe Good Life
(La Belle Vie)
Music by Sacha Distel
French lyrics by Jean Broussolle
English lyrics by Jack Reardon
Performed by Bobby Darin
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & TV Music
Cage's performance as Roy is definitely the reason why you would want to watch this movie. He got very into character, a con artist with unique psychological traits where agoraphobia and OCD do not cover it all. Throughout the movie it's impossible not to feel for Roy when his eye twitches or whenever he has a nervous breakdown. This is most likely going to be the best obsessive-compulsive character performance you'll see in a while. Roy's organized and simple life is disrupted when a smart and outgoing daughter shows up, somewhat out of nowhere. Lohman's performance as Angela could be described as a unique balance between "lovable young lady with parent issues" and "sneaky little brat that wants things her way", resulting in a very solid performance (note that she was 24 at the time, 10 years older than her character). Frank, Rockwell's character, is an eager protégé trying to convince Roy into going for big hit, instead of the usual "simple is safe". Frank's passive-aggressive patience to deal with Roy's shenanigans adds a hint of comedy to the movie.
The relationship between Roy and Angela actually remembers Leon, the Professional (1994) at some point. It's always refreshing to see small homages to certain movies – and this one by Scott and Cage is a refreshing, 9 year gap fill. Also, two other things should be mentioned. First, the small but decisive aspect that Roy always uses matchsticks to light his cigarettes, overlapping a character performance with the title. Second, it's based on a novel by Eric Garcia, with the same title as the movie.
An overall brilliant performance from these three characters and starting plot would be more than enough for anyone to watch this piece. However, the plot twist at the end, even though it's not that predictable, could be disliked by many (me included). Still, it's a movie worth watching, and one that I would recommend given Cage's performance and character.
- arenatomoreira
- Dec 2, 2015
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $62,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $36,906,460
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $13,087,307
- Sep 14, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $65,565,672
- Runtime1 hour 56 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1