Wednesday 15 January 2020

Matchstick Men (2003 Ridley Scott)

Another term for 'con men'. Nick and Ted Griffin adapted Eric Garcia's book, which ends in the same way but more downbeat - the film has a happy ending tacked on.

It's a bit like having travelling to Barcelona and finding when you arrive it's Slough.

It's a bit much really - part of the con is Cage being cured of his OCD and neuroses? The kid... Perhaps that's why we haven't watched it for about twenty years. Maybe watch again in another twenty? The Mail on Sunday called it 'One of the best films of the year', so that just about says it all. (Just for the record Kill Bill, Lost in Translation, Mystic River, L'Auberge Espanol, 28 Days Later, Seabiscuit, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, Love Actually and Something's Gotta Give were all released that year.)

Scott and editor Dody Dorn have fun messing about with images to help convey Nicolas Cage's state of mind; Sam Rockwell doesn't have a lot to do. It's still unbelievable that Alison Lohman was 23 (playing 14) when it was made (and yesterday we had 23 playing 15). Bruce Altman is the psychiatrist and Bruce McGill the con target.

John Mathieson shot it, Hans Zimmer score. It does have a wide musical reference, including several Frank Sinatra songs at the outset - the music editing is rather marvellous. The tracks that sound like the Gotan Project aren't.


This month we've managed to watch a film from every decade since the twenties.

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