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The Lookout (2007)
Director: Scott Frank
Movie review
From Time Out London
A derivative debut from Oscar-nominated screenwriter Scott Frank (‘Out of Sight’, ‘The Interpreter’), this Midwestern neo-noir follows the ill-fated trajectory of popular high-school jock, Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who, after a tragic car accident on prom night, suffers from a serious brain injury resulting in crippling memory lapses and poor impulse control. In a desperate attempt to sustain a regular life, he takes a janitor position mopping floors in a rural bank, but gets caught up in a premeditated heist with a shady bunch of thugs who he may have known before the accident.
Making good use of its snow-capped, ‘Fargo’-esque landscape and utilising the existential angst of ‘Memento’, the film generates an admirable sense of unease, but lacks the velocity and taut, provocative structure of those predecessors, resulting in a straightforward genre piece in which double-crosses and surprise twists lead to the inevitable. Still, Gordon-Levitt is superb as the cognitively challenged protagonist, as is the aptly cast Isla Fisher, in the role of Luvlee Lemons, a sickly sweet femme fatale. Jeff Daniels leaves no scenery unchewed but provides sardonic comic relief as Pratt’s blind, sex-starved roommate. Forgettable fun.
Author: Amy Simmons
Time Out London Issue 1941: October 31-November 6
User reviews of this film
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- critique said...
- Posted on Nov 08 2007 11:21 Anaemic, dull, not particuarly cinematic. Agree with Krish that it should have been straight to "video". Lead actor looked like Pinocchio & was only marginally less wooden. Jeff Daniels sticks out like a sore thumb in that he actually has some screen presence.
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- Krish said...
- Posted on Nov 04 2007 15:09 This shouldve been a straight to "video" movie - however, there is a surpise appearance by Ozzy Osbourne...
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Scott Frank
Producer: Walter F Parkes, Laurence Mark, Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Isla Fisher, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Bruce McGill full cast
Rated: 15
Duration: 95 mins
UK Release: Nov 2 2007
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