Chris Knipp
09-09-2014, 12:32 AM
Daniel Schechter: Life of Crime (2013)
http://www.chrisknipp.com/newpictures/lifeofcrime.jpgyour'e
John Hawkes and Jennifer Anniston in Life of Crime
Friends indeed
For a fun time, go see Life of Crime. Go to the late show, when the real fans are there. Not the dopes who just want a popcorn movie, but the ones who really know what they're in for. Or you may not know, but you soon will. Once it gets going, you're going to think, "This is pure Elmore Leonard." Well, it's Elmore Leonard alright: it's his novel, The Switch. The young director, Daniel Schecter, doesn't get in the way. He wrote the adaptation, with Leonard's blessing, and Leonard produced; it was finished just before Leonard died. And it's a fitting tribute. There have been lots of Elmore Leonard movies, and some of them are better movies than this. But none are closer to his books. I've probably read this one; after a while you lose track. But I don't remember all the details. The more to enjoy this movie.
It moves between Detroit and the Bahamas (Connecticut and Florida standing in, in the shooting). Tim Robbins and Jennifer Anniston are Frank Dawson, a crooked real estate developer who's a drunk and his disgruntled trophy wife Mickey, who sticks around for the perks and for her young son Bo (Charlie Tahan, a kid actor with an impressive resume). Mos Def, AKA Yasin Bey, and John Hawkes are Ordell Robbie and Louis Gara, two common criminals who plot the kidnapping of Jackey, not knowing that Frank is about to divorce her and marry his tough, scheming Bahamas girlfriend Melanie (Isla Fisher), and does not cooperate when they call him in the Bahamas and demand a million dollars to set Jackey free. He and Melanie would like it fine if they offed her. The main cast is rounded out by Richard Monk (Mark Boone Junior of "Sons of Anarchy"), a fat, bearded neo-Nazi with a home arsenal and a collection of Hitler memorabilia. Ordell, who's black, discounts Richard's lower-then-dirt notion of "niggers." "He's so dumb he's adorable," says Ordell. Richard is Ordell and Louis's accomplice for the kidnapping, who helps gum up the works.
So does Jackey's would-be lover, Marshall Taylor (Will Forte, who got his big screen big chance as Bruce Dern's son in Nebraska), who shows up the minute Frank drops off Bo at tennis camp and heads for the Bahamas, as do Ordell and Louis, in a fox mask and a Nixon mask. The Nixon mask is a holdover from Point Break with the ex-president disguises donned by the surfing bank robbers. Masks are so crazy. They lend a festive, dangerous air. I even thought of Trash Humpers. At that point, as Ordell and Louis very quietly slip into the room where Jackey is standing, Marshall Taylor shows up with two martinis and a smirk.
Schechter adopts an up front, non-satrical approach to the Seventies setting, in contrast, say, to the cloying period fetishism of David O. Russell in American Hustle, a movie in which you are always distracted by hairdos and lapels. Life of Crime captures the period more offhandedly with its use of extreme closeups and a series of perfectly tacky Seventies top 40 tunes which are popped in but never call attention to themselves. In some ways this feels like an actual Seventies B-movie.
Some viewers, not the hardcore late show ones, are determined to think this is a comedy. And of course it is very funny. But like the masks it's madcap but also has an edge of danger at all times. Some viewers also think this is too flat. They don't get it. Elmore Leonard is a very successful and often filmed writer. But you wonder if viewers -- and reviewers -- who are critical of Life of Crime heave read Leonard's books. As I said, this is as close to them as you can get, even though other versions of his work, like Tarantino's Jackie Brown, are better. Tarantino revels in the neo-noir elements of Leonard's work, but he's too strong a filmmaker just to give you pure Leonard.
The casting is good, but despite Anniston being a sure box office draw, the main cast names are all familiar to regular movie-goers, and they all make their characters a little more soft and simpatico than the actual Elmore Leonard characters. Tim Robbins is sleazy enough as Frank Dawson. He looks overweight and unattractive. But he seems too jovial; he pleases us too much. Hawkes is meant to be a character who'll bond with Anniston, his intended "victim," but he's a little too mousy; this isn't one of this excellent character actor's best roles. Mos Def is good -- but he's Mos Def; he's too polished, and like Robbins, not mean enough. Of course it's appropriate that these characters are malleable, and can swing several ways. That's the essence of the story.
Anniston is just right, and I kept wondering if she hadn't played this exact kind of role before, though everybody says she hasn't. But still we know too well who she is. The neo-Nazi works well because the actor is unfamiliar. I personally don't know or recognize Isla Miller (a plus), but despite the praise of reviewers who do know her work, she doesn't seem particularly distinctive.
Despite these criticisms of the casting, the Elmore Leonard story comes through loud and clear. I will not go into detail so as not to spoil it for those who've not read The Switch and so will feel the authentic delight at the finale. This is an ensemble piece. Some of its best moments come when characters put on masks. Then we can forget we know the actors and get lost in the action.
The final scene, which involves masks, is perfect. It is timed just right and works by sight, with no need for words. That's even better than Elmore Leonard's dialogue, good as it is, which Schechter uses faithfully (though for the screenplay he has had to lose details of characterization: Ordell and Louis will come up in later books).
Elmore Leonard, just like Jane Austen -- I don't make the comparison to shock -- wrote books that are ideal to make into movies. But, also like Jane Austen, his books ultimately depend for their success on his unique style, on cadences of sentences, turns of dialogue. Leonard and Austen both give us a world made all from words, not scenes or photography or costumes (the only essential garment here is a man's hat stolen at the outset). Their books are ultimately not able to be captured on film. But as I've implied, Schechter gets in the way less than most adapters of Leonard. I'm not sure any feature film version of Jane Austen does this well.
Life of Crime, 98 mins., debuted at Toronto 2013. It opened in the US 29 August 2014 and opens in a lot of countries in September, October, November, and December 2014.
http://www.chrisknipp.com/newpictures/lifeofcrime.jpgyour'e
John Hawkes and Jennifer Anniston in Life of Crime
Friends indeed
For a fun time, go see Life of Crime. Go to the late show, when the real fans are there. Not the dopes who just want a popcorn movie, but the ones who really know what they're in for. Or you may not know, but you soon will. Once it gets going, you're going to think, "This is pure Elmore Leonard." Well, it's Elmore Leonard alright: it's his novel, The Switch. The young director, Daniel Schecter, doesn't get in the way. He wrote the adaptation, with Leonard's blessing, and Leonard produced; it was finished just before Leonard died. And it's a fitting tribute. There have been lots of Elmore Leonard movies, and some of them are better movies than this. But none are closer to his books. I've probably read this one; after a while you lose track. But I don't remember all the details. The more to enjoy this movie.
It moves between Detroit and the Bahamas (Connecticut and Florida standing in, in the shooting). Tim Robbins and Jennifer Anniston are Frank Dawson, a crooked real estate developer who's a drunk and his disgruntled trophy wife Mickey, who sticks around for the perks and for her young son Bo (Charlie Tahan, a kid actor with an impressive resume). Mos Def, AKA Yasin Bey, and John Hawkes are Ordell Robbie and Louis Gara, two common criminals who plot the kidnapping of Jackey, not knowing that Frank is about to divorce her and marry his tough, scheming Bahamas girlfriend Melanie (Isla Fisher), and does not cooperate when they call him in the Bahamas and demand a million dollars to set Jackey free. He and Melanie would like it fine if they offed her. The main cast is rounded out by Richard Monk (Mark Boone Junior of "Sons of Anarchy"), a fat, bearded neo-Nazi with a home arsenal and a collection of Hitler memorabilia. Ordell, who's black, discounts Richard's lower-then-dirt notion of "niggers." "He's so dumb he's adorable," says Ordell. Richard is Ordell and Louis's accomplice for the kidnapping, who helps gum up the works.
So does Jackey's would-be lover, Marshall Taylor (Will Forte, who got his big screen big chance as Bruce Dern's son in Nebraska), who shows up the minute Frank drops off Bo at tennis camp and heads for the Bahamas, as do Ordell and Louis, in a fox mask and a Nixon mask. The Nixon mask is a holdover from Point Break with the ex-president disguises donned by the surfing bank robbers. Masks are so crazy. They lend a festive, dangerous air. I even thought of Trash Humpers. At that point, as Ordell and Louis very quietly slip into the room where Jackey is standing, Marshall Taylor shows up with two martinis and a smirk.
Schechter adopts an up front, non-satrical approach to the Seventies setting, in contrast, say, to the cloying period fetishism of David O. Russell in American Hustle, a movie in which you are always distracted by hairdos and lapels. Life of Crime captures the period more offhandedly with its use of extreme closeups and a series of perfectly tacky Seventies top 40 tunes which are popped in but never call attention to themselves. In some ways this feels like an actual Seventies B-movie.
Some viewers, not the hardcore late show ones, are determined to think this is a comedy. And of course it is very funny. But like the masks it's madcap but also has an edge of danger at all times. Some viewers also think this is too flat. They don't get it. Elmore Leonard is a very successful and often filmed writer. But you wonder if viewers -- and reviewers -- who are critical of Life of Crime heave read Leonard's books. As I said, this is as close to them as you can get, even though other versions of his work, like Tarantino's Jackie Brown, are better. Tarantino revels in the neo-noir elements of Leonard's work, but he's too strong a filmmaker just to give you pure Leonard.
The casting is good, but despite Anniston being a sure box office draw, the main cast names are all familiar to regular movie-goers, and they all make their characters a little more soft and simpatico than the actual Elmore Leonard characters. Tim Robbins is sleazy enough as Frank Dawson. He looks overweight and unattractive. But he seems too jovial; he pleases us too much. Hawkes is meant to be a character who'll bond with Anniston, his intended "victim," but he's a little too mousy; this isn't one of this excellent character actor's best roles. Mos Def is good -- but he's Mos Def; he's too polished, and like Robbins, not mean enough. Of course it's appropriate that these characters are malleable, and can swing several ways. That's the essence of the story.
Anniston is just right, and I kept wondering if she hadn't played this exact kind of role before, though everybody says she hasn't. But still we know too well who she is. The neo-Nazi works well because the actor is unfamiliar. I personally don't know or recognize Isla Miller (a plus), but despite the praise of reviewers who do know her work, she doesn't seem particularly distinctive.
Despite these criticisms of the casting, the Elmore Leonard story comes through loud and clear. I will not go into detail so as not to spoil it for those who've not read The Switch and so will feel the authentic delight at the finale. This is an ensemble piece. Some of its best moments come when characters put on masks. Then we can forget we know the actors and get lost in the action.
The final scene, which involves masks, is perfect. It is timed just right and works by sight, with no need for words. That's even better than Elmore Leonard's dialogue, good as it is, which Schechter uses faithfully (though for the screenplay he has had to lose details of characterization: Ordell and Louis will come up in later books).
Elmore Leonard, just like Jane Austen -- I don't make the comparison to shock -- wrote books that are ideal to make into movies. But, also like Jane Austen, his books ultimately depend for their success on his unique style, on cadences of sentences, turns of dialogue. Leonard and Austen both give us a world made all from words, not scenes or photography or costumes (the only essential garment here is a man's hat stolen at the outset). Their books are ultimately not able to be captured on film. But as I've implied, Schechter gets in the way less than most adapters of Leonard. I'm not sure any feature film version of Jane Austen does this well.
Life of Crime, 98 mins., debuted at Toronto 2013. It opened in the US 29 August 2014 and opens in a lot of countries in September, October, November, and December 2014.