Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
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
-
- 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.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- 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
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing







What do you think?
Post your review now