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MATCHSTICK MEN By Rachel Deahl Review Film Critic Click for the Official Site Ridley Scott's new light drama about a career con man who gets an unexpected and unwelcome chance to be a father is a lot like its central grifter: endearing and interesting if not unforgettable. Held up by three strong performances, "Matchstick Men" is chiefly supported by Nicolas Cage's impressive turn as Roy, an obsessive-compulsive con man who lives a painfully ordered existence in Los Angeles. Burdened with physical tics (he occasionally chokes on his words and uncontrollably blinks his eyes), agoraphobia and the need to keep everything around him spotless, Roy follows a strict routine to get through his day. He smokes cigarettes incessantly, opens and closes doors three times before coming or going and can't allow anyone to step on his carpet with their shoes on. Pulling petty scams with his young partner and protégé, Frank (Sam Rockwell), Roy adds to the endless stash of money he keeps in both a ceramic bulldog in his home and a safe deposit box at the bank. Working out of a dingy office, Frank and Sam call elderly people and explain how they've won a prize and need to send in a nominal amount to claim said prize. The duo then shows up at their customer's door, posing as fraud investigators, and announce the con, saying the person now has to give them their bank account info so they can hopefully stop the criminals at work. A gruff, crude opposite to Roy's manic, mannered presence, Frank helps his elder partner cope with his paranoia and phobias. And, when Roy accidentally drops his supply of pills down the drain, his young cohort sends him to see a shrink to get a new stash.
Uneasy about discussing his problems with a doctor, Roy slowly starts to open up and is encouraged to make contact with his ex-wife, who left him years ago when she was pregnant. The result: Roy gets to meet his daughter, 14-year-old Angela (Alison Lohman). Throwing off his routine and, at the same time, forcing him to become an oddly protective father, Angela's presence quickly gives meaning to Roy's empty life. Of course when the fun goes from enjoying a late night pizza to sharing the secrets of the grift, things become more complicated and Roy unwittingly involves Angela in the massive heist he's agreed to work with Frank. While Sam Rockwell's wily, obnoxiously lovable Frank is a perfect compliment to Cage's tightly wound Roy, the real delight is Lohman. As the exuberant Angela, who can get her dad to do her bidding with an innocent flash of her dimpled smile, the young actress is perfect as the innocent kid who's got an uncanny skill for her dad's line of work. Finally, like any decent film about con artists, "Matchstick Men" plays its audience for the fool. And while the sting is well orchestrated and enjoyable, the effect is fleeting. GRADE: B+ THIRTEEN Click for the Official Site Somewhere in between the bleak, screwed-up world of Larry Clark and the triteness of an after school special sits Catherine Hardwicke's "Thirteen." The well-handled, if familiar, tale of a pre-teen who starts heading down the road of sex, drugs and self-mutilation, the film is most effective in its presentation of a mother-daughter relationship on the verge of collapse. Co-written by Hardwicke (who's lengthy producing credits include "Laurel Canyon" and "Vanilla Sky") and 15-year-old Nikki Reed, who co-stars, "Thirteen" chronicles the disturbing coming-of-age of a young girl living and growing up in the Valley. Based loosely on Reed's own experiences growing up too fast, "Thirteen" oscillates from a canned little girl lost story to a jarring one about the difficulties of being a kid today. Evan Rachel Wood (who appeared on ABC's acclaimed one-hour drama "Once and Again") stars as Tracy, an insecure middle-schooler who cuts herself to cope with her problems. A gifted student and writer, she lives with her sweet but struggling mother (Holly Hunter) and older brother in a middle class neighborhood outside Los Angeles. When she grabs the eye of a popular but troubled classmate (played by Reed), she begins her treacherous walk on the wild side. While hanging out with her new best friend, Tracy quickly goes from shopliftng to taking Ecstasy to having sex. Though "Thirteen" follows the basic trajectory of a film about drug abuse, it's most interesting for the way it handles the relationships Tracy maintains with the two seminal women in her life: her mother and her best friend. Hunter's character, a recovering drug addict who wants so badly to be her daughter's best friend that she finds it difficult to be her mom, is particularly compelling. A woman who in some ways has her act together and in other ways does not, Hunter's mom is a woman who recognizes in her daughter the one thing she doesn't want to see: herself. And "Thirteen" comes most alive when Hunter and Wood are on screen together, facing off. For her part in the story, Reed's conniving and disturbed Evie is more cartoonish than the other players but nonetheless interesting. Living with a derelict relative, Evie attaches onto Tracy and all but moves into her home. Seemingly, for all her demonical machinations (she lies and manipulates everyone around her), the one thing Evie is in dire need of is love.
Demonstrating sexual overtones towards both Tracy and her mom, Evie is at once horrifically voracious and sympathetic. A young girl who has clearly endured more than her fair share of abuse (she sports a number of deep scars on her back), Evie's home life is even more unfortunate than Tracy's. Finally, at the heart of the film, is Evan Rachel Wood's memorable Tracy. Self-centered, obnoxious and lost, Tracy feels more "real" than most of the teens we see on-screen. And Wood, with her nervous presence and waifish figure, is ideal for the role. Though it might not be too much more than another tale of a kid trying to make it through the treachery of growing up, "Thirteen" shows signs of a more a nuanced character study. Grade: A-
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