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The Lookout

  • 20072007
  • RR
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
59K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Jeff Daniels, Isla Fisher, Matthew Goode, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Lookout (2007)
The Lookout - Trailer
Play trailer2:22
1 Video
38 Photos
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Thriller

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, wher... Read allChris 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.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.

IMDb RATING
7.0/10
59K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Scott Frank
  • Writer
    • Scott Frank
  • Stars
    • Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    • Jeff Daniels
    • Matthew Goode
Top credits
  • Director
    • Scott Frank
  • Writer
    • Scott Frank
  • Stars
    • Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    • Jeff Daniels
    • Matthew Goode
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 167User reviews
    • 144Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 11 nominations

    Videos1

    The Lookout
    Trailer 2:22
    The Lookout

    Photos38

    Matthew Goode in The Lookout (2007)
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Lookout (2007)
    Jeff Daniels and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Lookout (2007)
    Matthew Goode and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Lookout (2007)
    Isla Fisher in The Lookout (2007)
    Jeff Daniels in The Lookout (2007)
    Scott Frank, Matthew Goode, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Lookout (2007)
    Isla Fisher at an event for The Lookout (2007)
    Carla Gugino at an event for The Lookout (2007)
    Carla Gugino at an event for The Lookout (2007)
    Scott Frank at an event for The Lookout (2007)
    Matthew Goode at an event for The Lookout (2007)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    • Chris Prattas Chris Pratt
    Jeff Daniels
    Jeff Daniels
    • Lewisas Lewis
    Matthew Goode
    Matthew Goode
    • Gary Spargoas Gary Spargo
    Isla Fisher
    Isla Fisher
    • Luvleeas Luvlee
    Carla Gugino
    Carla Gugino
    • Janetas Janet
    Bruce McGill
    Bruce McGill
    • Robert Prattas Robert Pratt
    Alberta Watson
    Alberta Watson
    • Barbara Prattas Barbara Pratt
    Alex Borstein
    Alex Borstein
    • Mrs. Langeas Mrs. Lange
    Sergio Di Zio
    Sergio Di Zio
    • Deputy Tedas Deputy Ted
    David Huband
    David Huband
    • Mr. Tuttleas Mr. Tuttle
    Laura Vandervoort
    Laura Vandervoort
    • Kellyas Kelly
    Greg Dunham
    • Boneas Bone
    Morgan Kelly
    Morgan Kelly
    • Martyas Marty
    Aaron Berg
    Aaron Berg
    • Corkas Cork
    Tinsel Korey
    Tinsel Korey
    • Mauraas Maura
    Suzanne Kelly
    Suzanne Kelly
    • Ninaas Nina
    Brian Edward Roach
    • Dannyas Danny
    • (as Brian Roach)
    Martin Roach
    Martin Roach
    • Loan Officeras Loan Officer
    • Director
      • Scott Frank
    • Writer
      • Scott Frank
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    An admired high school hockey player with a bright future foolishly takes a drive in the night with his girlfriend and two other friends with his headlights off with devastating results. The former athlete is left with a brain injury that prevents him from remembering many things for extended periods of time. To compensate, he keeps notes in a small notebook to aid him in remembering what he is to do. He also lives with a blind friend who aids him. Obviously, with the mental incapacitation, he is unable to have meaningful work. Thus he works as a night cleaning man in a bank. It is there he comes under the scrutiny of a gang planning to rob the bank. The leader befriends him and gets him involved with a young woman who further reels him in. After they get close and after reeling him in with his own failures, the bank plan unfolds. Confused but wanting to escape his current existence, he initially goes along with the scheme. After realizing he is being used, he attempts to stop the robbery, which of course immediately goes awry. —John Sacksteder <jsackste@bellsouth.net>
    • female nudity
    • amnesia
    • sex
    • casual sex
    • seduction
    • 154 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Whoever has the money has the power
    • Genres
      • Crime
      • Drama
      • Thriller
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for language, some violence and sexual content
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      To help him play a brain damaged man, Joseph Gordon-Levitt did not get much sleep and worked out hard at the gym before shooting to help him appear disoriented. He also befriended people with brain damage and read "The Man with a Shattered World: The History of a Brain Wound".
    • Goofs
      When Chris Pratt calls Gary to arrange where to return the money, he tells him to meet him at 6 AM, meaning that it would be earlier than 6 AM when the call was placed. However, it's already light out, even though the sun does not rise in Kansas City until after 7:35 AM at the time of year the movie takes place (Christmas).
    • Quotes

      Gary Spargo: My old man used to say to me, probably the only thing we ever really agreed on, was that whoever has the money has the power. You might wanna jot that down in your book. It's something you're gonna need to remember.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Premonition/The Wind That Shakes the Barley/The Lookout/The Ultimate Gift/Maxed Out (2007)
    • Soundtracks
      One Big Holiday
      (2003)

      Written by Jim James (as James Edward Olliges, Jr.)

      Performed by My Morning Jacket

      Courtesy of ATO/RCA Records

      By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

    User reviews167

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Non-Formulaic Mixture of Heist Film and Character Drama
    What was interesting about going to see The Lookout, for me, was the uncertainty with Scott Frank, the screenwriter who makes his directorial debut here. It would be one thing if he were a screenwriter whose work I've seen was all original. If his previous screenplays had been great original works, I'd be absolutely sure that he'd be a great director, but because the only films he's written that I've seen have been adaptations of Elmore Leonard novels and a Philip K. Dick story, it was not only the first time I'd see his direction by also the first time I'd experience his own story.

    I found that the script was great. I enjoy heist films possibly more than any other genre, and even though the heist itself is not so intricate and clever the way I prefer them the premise that sets up the gimmick used in the heist is quite clever. Really though, the film is not about the heist at all. It's about a very young person whose life is now completely different because of a car wreck that was all his fault. He has short term memory loss and deals with its shortcomings accompanied by horrible feelings of guilt for the deaths of his two friends and the maiming of his girlfriend. The movie at times seems a little uneven, because the makings of a thriller are intercut estrangedly with the makings of a slice-of-life drama. But both sides of the story work and it's generally fulfilling despite not being so tightly done. The movie is, upon reflection, reminiscent of realist films from the 1970s in its story and directorial style.

    The cinematography and editing are adequate, yet strangely, in many scenes, particularly those that take place at the main character's family's home and those that takes place at the bank, have great atmosphere, a coziness.

    What I admire about the movie is that it avoids clichés that seem on the very brink of being outrageous displays of them. For instance, there is the friendly airhead patrol cop that stops off at the bank every night to check up on things, bringing doughnuts and all, and we feel as if we know what will happen with him, and even now, one can't truly say it was or wasn't expected. The almost unbearably riveting climax, for instance, is for heist movie fans, a near-cliché, but wraps up with a fresh and new take on what we would expect. The characters are all inventive actually, and quite realistic.

    Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a very young face without a name, will perhaps have a name now due to his deep, impressive performance in the title role. Jeff Daniels, however, has reached the point in his career where he steals every scene he is in, a la Michael Caine or Al Pacino, playing the sagacious and outgoing friend. Matthew Goode, playing the lead villain, is also a major plus for the cast. Leave it to an English actor to portray the villain with such a whispering convincing disposition that even we almost like him at first even though we are in on his scheme from the beginning. Greg Dunham, who plays another would-be cliché, the stoic sunglassed killer of only about five words in his vocabulary, avoids clichehood by somehow drawing such intense hatred from the audience that we are spared nothing by his cold and ruthless behavior.
    helpful•62
    35
    • jzappa
    • Apr 1, 2007

    FAQ1

    • What song plays during the opening?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 30, 2007 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Обман
    • Filming locations
      • Hartney, Manitoba, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Miramax
      • Spyglass Entertainment
      • Laurence Mark Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $16,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $4,600,585
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $2,007,000
      • Apr 1, 2007
    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,371,181
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 39 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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