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Review

The Lookout

3 out of 5 stars
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Time Out says

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.

Release Details

  • Rated:15
  • Release date:Friday 2 November 2007
  • Duration:95 mins

Cast and crew

  • Director:Scott Frank
  • Screenwriter:Scott Frank
  • Cast:
    • Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    • Jeff Daniels
    • Isla Fisher
    • Matthew Goode
    • Carla Gugino
    • Bruce McGill
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