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Mathew Scott

Matchstick Men

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell,  Alison Lohman, Bruce Altman

Director: Ridley Scott

Category: IIB

British director Ridley Scott has a career noted as much for its misses (G.I. Jane, Black Rain, White Squall) as its hits (Alien, Thelma And Louise, Gladiator). But we can be glad  he takes chances, as he has with this low-key con-man caper that rises above the ordinary, thanks to his  skills. It's helped along, of course, by the natural charm of its Oscar-winning lead, Nicolas Cage.  You turn up never quite knowing what Cage you are going to get.

Here, it's the bewildered, lovable knockabout rogue - as glimpsed in the early days of Raising Arizona (1987) - and it fits Cage like a well-worn suit. He is con-man Roy, partner to the more driven Frank (Sam Rockwell) and a man who shines at his chosen career but is held back.  He's an agoraphobic, chain-smoking obsessive-compulsive, which might put the dampeners on anyone's dreams. Searching out the root of all his evils, Roy turns to a doctor for help - and  uncovers a dark secret,  in the form of the daughter (Alison Lohman) he never knew he had.

Most surprising from Scott so far in the film's development is  that he backs right off the action, even allowing the  crime part of the caper to drift into the background. It's all about characters - and he allows them mostly to develop and drag us in to their little tale.

On the downside  comes the film's change in tone once Roy discovers his daughter. She brings out the 'human' in him - but  we become more and more concerned with the crime than  the characters, and the film becomes lost somewhere along the way.

Our attention is always saved, though, by the torn figure of Cage  trying so hard to do right, when everyone wants him to do wrong. And it's one of Scott's many talents that he allows his audience to gain such a 'feel' for his characters - almost imperceptibly. We're  often left caring for them (yes, even in G.I. Jane), even if we become uninterested in what they're actually saying and doing.

In the end, Matchstick Men is one of those films that leaves you a little confused. It has most of the right ingredients. You know it should  all come together. But you're left wanting just a little more.



Matchstick Men