Focus (FILM REVIEW)
Focus
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Con Man Matches Wits with Former Protégé in Farfetched, Cat-and-Mouse Crime Caper
Jess Barrett (Margot Robbie) is an
aspiring con artist who picked the worst guy to steal a wallet from when she
settled on Nicky Spurgeon (Will Smith). She had no reason to suspect that he
was a third generation flimflam man descended from a grandfather who ran a
crooked poker game in Harlem back in the day.
Nicky was more curious than
infatuated when he accepted the seductive stranger’s invite up to her hotel
room after sharing drinks at a bar in midtown Manhattan. So, he was ready when an
accomplice (Griff Furst) posing as her berserk husband burst in brandishing a fake
gun.
Rather than hand over his wallet, Nicky calmly laughs and schools
the two in the flaws of their little shakedown, such as not waiting until he
was naked to try to rob him. Jess is so impressed that she not only confesses,
but begs him to take her on as a protégé, giving him a hard luck story about
having been a dyslexic foster kid.
Nicky agrees to show her the ropes, and even invites her to join his
team of hustlers about to descend on New
Orleans where they plan to pickpocket plenty of
unsuspecting tourists. They’re also set to hatch an elaborate plan to fleece a wealthy
compulsive gambler (BD Wong) of over a million dollars.
Though Jess proves to be a fast learner and the plot is executed
without a hitch, Nicky is reluctant to include her in his next operation after
they become romantically involved. Instead, he moves on alone to Argentina,
where he hopes to bilk a racing car mogul (Rodrigo
Santoro) of a
small fortune.
The plot thickens when Jess is already draped on the arm of the playboy
billionaire by the
time Nicky arrives in Buenos Aires.
Is she in love with the handsome Garriga or simply staging her own swindle? Will she expose Nicky as a fraud or might she be willing to join forces with her former
mentor?
Co-directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (Crazy, Stupid, Love),
Focus is an overplotted, cat-and-mouse caper which ostensibly takes its clues
from the cleverly-concealed classic House of Games (1987). But where that multi-layered
mystery was perfectly plausible, this frustrating homage unnecessarily ventures
from the sublime to the ridiculous, thereby sabotaging any chance that its
promising premise might be played out in serious fashion.
Nevertheless, co-stars Will Smith and Margot
Robbie generate
enough chemistry to steam up the screen and make the farfetched romantic romp just
worth the watch, provided eye candy alone can do for you in lieu of credulity.
Good (2 stars)
Rated R
for profanity, sexuality and brief violence
Running time: 104 minutes
Distributor: Warner
Brothers Pictures
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