The Lookout

Now it is time for another player to jockey for position at the top of the 2007 list. It has been fantastic first third of the year, definitely the best since I have been paying attention. Along with the strength of the movie itself, Joseph Gordon-Levitt places himself as may be the best actor under 30 years of age. Comparing his work here and in Brick to his prior famous role in 3rd Rock From the Sun is extraordinary. He commands the screen from beginning to end and takes your basic heist story to that next level. I will not be able to recommend this enough it the few words I will be writing up here.

Any discussion of The Lookout should begin and end with Joseph Gordon-Levitt's portrayal of Chris Pratt. Although he is playing the old acting standby of mentally challenged, it is his ability to depict the confusion inside his head while he attempts to go about his daily life that carries the day. His struggle to just open up a can of tomatoes was painful to watch. It is hard to imagine having to write everything down just so you will remember how to do it tomorrow and the day after that. But as Pratt starts figuring out how to properly sequence events in his head, you can see him begin to gain control over his life. Plus it is always funny when characters scream obscenities or say completely inappropriate things because they just don’t have the ability to filter the difference between thoughts and speech. While Levitt’s work is the highlight, Jeff Daniels definitely takes advantage of his screen-time as the blind roommate and guardian. Whenever the tension of the film needed to be broken, he was there. He was just the right amount of quirky. With the two main protagonists being handicapped, it was also interesting that they had the lead bank robber, Matthew Goode, be severely asthmatic. Goode does believable work as he seduces Levitt into helping his crew rob the bank he works for. Of course using Isla Fisher as sexual incentive is a damn useful secret weapon. “I want to see you naked” is definitely the right thing to say when you are having a conversation with her, Chris Pratt. Whereas the story could have been the weakness of the movie, the accident that opens the movie is both horrific and stupid enough to carry the motivation for the rest of the story. If someone had to live with that on their conscience, especially since it is one of the few memories that stick, that person would become desperate enough to do just about anything to regain what they lost. The ending may stretch believability just a tad but the characters, particularly Daniels and Goode, make it work.

Although sadly it seems that The Lookout is not destined for big box office, just like Brick last year, but hopefully these performances will allow Joseph Gordon-Levitt to springboard into a more high profile career. He deserves scripts that will allow him to gain attention at the end of the year. But for now I am just hoping that people will make the effort to see this film. Cause I have grown tired of people complaining about the lack of quality movies while at the same time 6 total people see this movie.

9 our of 10