The Lookout

7.5 out of 10

Scott Frank still feels more like a writer (he wrote Get Shorty and Out of Sight) than a director, but that's not really a bad thing. He seems to have a better grasp of plot mechanics and character motivation than visual storytelling, but those earlier two are often only afterthoughts in modern Hollywood productions, making The Lookout a refreshing change of pace. The film may not look as stylish as most, but there's a bit more depth than most too.

On the surface, it's a simple gritty crime film, the sort of indie-film neo-noir that went through a boom in the 1990s. But while film noir and neo-noir often deal with the an everyman protagonist who falls into the seedy side of things through coincidence and misfortune, The Lookout features a protagonist who becomes involved with criminals for distinct, understandable reasons that come out of his character and situation.

That situation includes the protagonist being in the long-term recovery from a traumatic brain injury. He has memory problems, trouble sequencing events, emotional and violent outbursts. He can't describe a typical morning. Instead of college, the former high-school hockey star sweeps floors at a small town bank.

The key to all this is playing out well is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Having left sitcoms (Third Rock from the Sun) for indie films (Brick, Mysterious Skin) Gordon-Levitt has emerged as an important young actor. That's actor, not star; a star would have turned Chris Pratt into a showboating attempt at an Oscar, playing up every twitch and outburst. Instead, Gordon-Levitt plays the struggles to remember under an appearance of normalcy. When he can't find the can-opener and his frustration boils over, the illusion shatters and he slumps into a shameful depression, where his blind semi-hippie roommate Lewis (Jeff Daniels) who offers a encouragement and a few sage words.

What Chris really wants is to somehow recapture the future he lost when his car slammed into a combine, and it's not hard to see why he falls for the pitch of skeezy Gary and lovely Luvlee. Gary can be rude but he doesn't condescend to Chris, more than can be said about his family. Luvlee may be a stripper, but she's far more receptive than the only other woman in his life, his caseworker. Sure, they recruited him for his access to the bank, but they're offering a chance to achieve something on his own and he's desperate for that.

As things speed up, the film has a disappointing trend away from an intimate character study to standard crime thriller, complete with showdowns and gunplay. At this point, Chris's mental difficulties become little more than a plot gimmick, tossing a few more rules and angles to the climax but still to completely overcome the cookie-cutter villains and trite scheme. Failing to deliver a satisfying crime story may be disappointing but it's hardly a deal-breaker given the unique strengths of The Lookout. Crime stories are a dime a dozen but getting a character depiction as unusual and deep as this protagonist is a rare find.

Directed and Written by Scott Frank; Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jeff Daniels; MPAA #43044

Viewed on 08Apr2007 at Cinemark Eastgate

posted by Jesse Zander Corum @ 3:42 PM