The Lookout (2007): Chris (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a once promising high school athlete whose life is turned upside down following a tragic accident. As he tries to maintain a normal life, he takes a job as a janitor at a bank, where he ultimately finds himself caught up in a planned heist.
This is a character based crime story. The focus of the story is Chris, who after a terrible car accident has difficulty living a normal life. Physically he seems normal, but he has had brain damage, so he has difficulty remembering things.
At first I was really intrigued by his condition. It is not very clearly defined, like in Memento. He is also not depicted as a handicapped, like in Rainman. He is just like a normal guy who has some difficulty in his life, and people around him also have difficulty dealing with him.
Then Gary comes in befriending him, seemingly making Chris’s life better. But his true intentions are soon discovered by Chris.
At first I thought that towards the end there would be a revelation of some sort, that would change the way we thought of the film or the characters. I got that feeling especially before Gary was fully introduced, when he was just a shadow. Instead there is no big revelation about Gary or Chris.
This film is a simple bank heist, but the plot is not the focus of it. The characters are, especially Chris. At the end of the movie, when he tries to solve the mess he is in, he also realizes how to live his life.
I like all the performances, especially Gordon-Levitt, which I loved in both Mysterious Skin and Brick. Jeff Daniels was also good as the blind friend, the only one who seems to be on Chris’s side.
Ultimately I enjoyed this movie, but I had problems with it. The character of Luvlee was not well developed, but more importantly there were hints of a back story that was never revealed. Chris’s relationship with his family (and in particular his father) was also not well developed, though I can see that there wasn’t enough time for it.
The character Bone was too cliche, and filled a plot role. That felt like poor writing to me. All the meta-fictional dialogs about telling a story felt a little bit too clever, as if the screenwriter was writing for himself and giving himself a pat on the back.
Overall I enjoyed this movie and recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 3.5 Stars