Susan Granger’s review of “MATCHSTICK MEN” (Warner Bros.)
Roy (Nicolas Cage) is a gifted grifter or – as he puts it – “a con artist” because he doesn’t take money – people give it to him. His philosophy is that his victims are greedy, looking for a too-good-to-be-true deal. Working with an ambitious protŽgŽ, Frank (Sam Rockwell), he’s a flim-flam master. But when he’s not scamming, his life’s a mess. He’s a lonely, chain-smoking, obsessive-compulsive agoraphobe. Looking for a quick medicinal fix, he goes to a psychoanalyst (Bruce Altman) and, as part of his therapy, realizes he has a teenage daughter he’s never seen. While his ex-wife wants nothing to do with him, 14 year-old Angela (Alison Lohman) is eager to meet the father she never knew. “You don’t seem like a bad guy,” she ventures shyly. “That’s what makes me good at it,” he replies. And since she’s at that rebellious age, she – literally – moves into his life and his ultra-tidy apartment. At first, he’s appalled by her invasion. Then his paternal nature takes over as he takes a quiet, loving delight in her antics, particularly when she begs him to teach her the tricks of the trade and she’s good at it. But when they become involved in a shady foreign currency exchange scam that backfires, things get twisted and complicated. Building on Nicholas Griffin & Ted Griffin’s screenplay, based on Eric Garcia’s book, director Ridley Scott (“Gladiator”) wisely concentrates on establishing the emotional depth of the characters – Nicholas Cage’s multi-layered neurotic, Sam Rockwell’s quirky unpredictability and Alison Lohman’s eager-for-approval vulnerability – before launching into the fast-paced thriller action, set to Hans Zimmer’s cool, jazzy ’50s score. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Matchstick Men” is a clever, dryly comic 8. It’s fun to watch the quintessential con man’s con.v
