The following review makes reference to the 2018 film The Old Man & the Gun and does not contain spoilers.
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Year: 2018
Category: Drama, Crime, Biography.
Director: David Lowery.
Cast: Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover, Tika Sumpter, Elisabeth Moss, Tom Waits, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Robert Longstreet, Keith Carradine, Jordan Trovillion, John David Washington, Augustine Frizzell, Barlow Jacobs, Gene Jones, Leah Roberts, Kevin McClatchy, Patrick Newall, Todd Terry, James Siderits, Christine Dye, Toby Halbrooks.
Plot
It tells a true story, Forrest Tucker story, a bank robber who spent most of his life in prison or trying to escape from it. In fact, he managed to escape 18 times and committed his last robbery in 2000 when he was 80 years old.
Opinion
Forrest Tucker is a 61 year old man who rob banks, and although the police have not yet identified him for these robberies, he is wanted because he escaped from prison two years ago. Now, Forrest meets Jewel while he escaped from the police during a robbery, and begins a relationship with her, while continuing to plan bank robberies in the late 70s and early 80s.
Being different from the rest of the thieves Forrest Tucker does not do it because of financial need or for another apparent reason, he is not violent either, and does not seem to want to flee at any cost either; he steals for the simple pleasure of stealing, he has probably never fired his weapon, all those who have been robbed by him identify him as an educated and happy man, besides, when his chances of running away are frustrated he does not resist during the arrest, one way or another, he will try to escape from prison, where he has escaped 16 times.
The character played by Robert Redford, probably in his last film, is a subject who lives his life as if it were a game for him, like when children play at being policemen and thieves, only that Forrest Tucker does it all his life, for that same reason he never uses violence, he simply asks in an "educated" way what he wants and people give it to him without resistance. In addition, the character itself is a kind of tribute to the same career of Robert Redford, who at 82 years old, continues doing the same thing he did throughout his life, like Forrest Tucker.
The director of this film is David Lowery, who previously directed A Ghost Story, Pete's Dragon, Is not Them Bodies Saints and St. Nick, and I have to say that the 16mm photography work he does is fine, in addition to an excellent staging that immediately transports the viewer to those years.
Casey Affleck as John Hunt, a detective pursuing the traces of Forrest Tucker; Tika Sumpter as Maureen Hunt, John's wife; Danny Glover as Teddy Green and Tom Waits as Waller, Forrest Tucker partners; Elisabeth Moss as Dorothy, Forrest Tucker daughter; and Sissy Spacek as Jewel, Forrest's love interest: they all do a good job, it's not the best job of any of them, but it's acceptable, especially considering that this is a film in which absolute prominence belongs to Redford, and although he does not make his best job, it is still a good and nice performance.
I liked the film, however, it does not stop having some problems or some wasted opportunities, the long criminal career of Forrest Tucker gave the director the possibility of creating something really unique, one of those stories in which reality surpasses fiction, however, he decided to focus exclusively on the character's old age stage, and although I understand that the objective of the film was to show the Forrest Tucker philosophy and in turn serve as a tribute to Redford's career, focusing almost absolutely on that, I think maybe the execution was not the best possible, because although I think the work is technically accurate, I feel that if they had included a secondary plot that showed one of the robberies of Forrest Tucker in his youth, the dynamics would have been better, the sequences would have been faster, and the contrast between a young and old Forrest would enrich the story, although I suppose that would also greatly increase the budget.
Trailer
Score
7/10
A good direction, an acceptable script, good performances and the final participation of Robert Redford on screen, make this an interesting and nice film that I recommend to all fans of the actor, however, to all those who expect a film with a great plot twist and action, I recommend them stay away.
