"Matchstick Men" is a movie about the art of the con. Whether it's the characters on screen duping each other or the filmmakers pulling a fast one on the audience, it is all about the sly-acting con artist. Either that, or "Matchstick Men" creators can't what it should be. At times it seems like a stylized caper flick, and other times it focuses on the relationship between a father and his daughter. Despite this, "Matchstick Men" can be entertaining, and even sometimes compelling.
Ridley Scott directs a solid cast led by Nicholas Cage as Roy, the obsessive-compulsive con-man or "matchstick man" with a cryptic past. Based on the book of the same name by Eric Garcia, "Matchstick Men" centers around Roy and his partner Frank (Sam Rockwell), who are successful con men looking to pull off a big score. Unexpectedly, Roy's estranged 14-year-old daughter Angela (Alison Lohman) enters his life. After Roy discovers she has a similar knack for pulling cons, Roy is faced with a dilemma: His criminal career is in the way of their fledgling relationship.
Seasoned director Ridley Scott employs several interesting techniques to convey Roy's interesting personality. Abrupt jump-cuts and reduced frame rates create a dissonance which helps the audience relate to Roy's psychosis.
Judging by the look of the scenes within Roy's absurdly neat house, you might think Scott is shooting a scene from "Memento." Has Roy told you about his condition? He has bottles of Windex organized not unlike Leonard Shelby's photos.
Fresh off an Academy Award nomination from last year's "Adaptation," Cage delivers another convincing performance, despite a few moments of instability. Cage's Roy wavers between an energetic neat-freak and a fast-talking smooth criminal with an affinity for Sinatra. While Cage is mostly on target with his portrayal there are moments in which it seems forced.
In an early scene, Roy loses his composure in the midst of a con due to the opening of a screen door. Cage's manic blinking seems to be more distracting than a window into his personality disorder. Where Cage succeeds, however, is in his scenes with Lohman, where he shows Roy's compassionate side. However, Cage isn't the scene-stealer here.
The breakout star of this movie is Lohman, who not only holds her own with Cage, but delivers the best performance in the film. Her scenes with Cage are simultaneously cute and sincere. As Roy shows Angela the ropes to grifting, one can't help but recall Peter Bogdanovich's "Paper Moon," just Bibles replaced with lotto tickets. Roy and Angela's relationship is the heart of the film.
What doesn't work in "Matchstick Men" is that, unlike the book, it is more character-based than plot-based. This puts the audience in a strange position near the end. It seems as if too much is crammed into the last 15 minutes that it doesn't match the rest of the film. It's as if a whole other movie has begun with a completely different agenda. It's "Adaptation," minus the irony.
After a relatively dull summer of movies relying way too much on spectacle opposed to substance, "Matchstick Men," despite its flaws, is refreshing. While the film is generally entertaining, well-acted and well-executed, it has a potential beyond the final product.
